Interactive television systems with digital video recording and adjustable reminders

ABSTRACT

An interactive television system is provided in which an interactive television application is used to support network-based or local personal video recorder capabilities. A user may use this application to view lists of program listings. The user may select a program listing of interest. The interactive television application may allow the user to set a reminder for the selected program at the scheduled broadcast time. This application may also allow the user to set a reminder for the selected program at a later time at which the program is not scheduled to be broadcast. The user may be provided with a reminder at this later time. In response, the user may direct the network-based or local personal video recorder to play back the program or may defer the reminder again. The interactive television application may collect information on program usage and popularity to determine how long to retain certain programming.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to television systems, and more particularly, tointeractive television systems such as interactive television programguide systems with network-based or local personal video recordercapabilities and the ability to use such capabilities to rescheduleprogram reminders.

Interactive television systems may be used to provide interactivetelevision program guides in which screens of interactive televisionprogram listings are presented to users. Pay-per-view andvideo-on-demand services, web browsing services, games, home shopping,and other interactive features may be provided using interactivetelevision systems.

In typical interactive television systems, users have set-top boxes orother equipment in their home with which the users interact using remotecontrols or other user interfaces. In a computer environment, users canaccess interactive television program guide web sites.

Interactive television program guides may be implemented on personalvideo recorder platforms. A typical personal video recorder has a harddisk drive for storing digital video recordings that may be played backon a user's television. Video recorder functionality may also beprovided using equipment at a cable system headend. With this type ofnetwork-based video recorder, a user may direct equipment at the headendto perform video recording and playback functions.

It would be desirable to be able to use the video recording capabilitiesof an interactive television system to allow a user to rescheduleprogram viewing and program reminders.

It would also be desirable to be able to collect and use information onthe desirability of retaining access to certain television programmingwhen managing the storage of network-based or local personalvideo-recorder content in an interactive television system.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, interactive television systemsare provided that support network-based or local personal video recorderfunctions. A user may use an interactive television program guide orother interactive television application to schedule a recording of anupcoming broadcast television program. Broadcast television programmingmay be recorded on network equipment (e.g., a server at a cable systemheadend or other network location) or on local equipment (e.g., a localpersonal video recorder). The user may use the network-based or localpersonal video recorder functions of the system to request that certainrecorded programs be played back for the user on the user's equipment.

If desired, programming may be recorded automatically by the network orby the local personal video recorder. Individual copies of programs maybe stored for each user as “real” or “actual” copies, or one or moreshared copies of programs may be centrally stored and provided to usersin the form of “virtual” copies. “Real” copies may also be stored on alocal personal video recorder or other suitable local equipment.

Each user may be provided with a personal area that reflects that user'scollection of recorded or archived programming. In environments in whichcopies are centrally maintained, each user's personal area may include alist of that user's virtual recordings or program copies. Inenvironments in which individual network-based or local copies ofrecorded programs are made for each user, each user's personal area mayinclude real recordings or program copies.

A user may use the interactive television application to set remindersfor programs of interest. For example, the user may set a reminder for aprogram that is scheduled to be broadcast later in the week. Just beforethe scheduled broadcast time of the program, the user may be presentedwith a reminder that alerts the user that the desired programming isabout to be broadcast.

The network-based or local personal video recorder capabilities of thesystem may be used to make a program available to the user at timesother than the scheduled broadcast time for that program. If a programfor which a user is interested in setting a reminder is available fromthe network at time other than the scheduled broadcast time through theuse of such capabilities, the user may be provided with an opportunityto select a viewing time and a time for receiving an accompanyingreminder message that is later than the original broadcast time. Forexample, the user may be provided with on-screen options that allow theuser to select a reminder time for the desired program even if there isno scheduled broadcast of the program at that time. The user may also beprovided with options that, if selected, direct the system to retain acopy of a program in the user's personal area in the event that the usermisses the program.

To use network or local storage efficiently, programs that are of lessinterest or that are particularly time-sensitive (e.g., nightly newsreports) may be maintained on the network-based or local personal videorecorder for less time than programs that are of more interest or areless time-sensitive (e.g., a popular situation comedy). This allows lessdesirable programming to be deleted, thereby freeing up storage spacefor other uses.

Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantageswill be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the followingdetailed description of the preferred embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an illustrative interactive television system inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram of illustrative user television equipment inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of additional illustrative user television equipmentin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of an illustrative remote control in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of illustrative user computer equipment inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a generalized diagram of illustrative user equipment inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows an illustrative menu screen in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 shows an illustrative program guide screen in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative display screen showing how a flip banner thatcontains program listings information for the current channel may bedisplayed as an overlay over video of the current channel in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an illustrative display screen showing how a browse bannerthat contains program listings information for a channel that may differfrom the current channel may be displayed as an overlay over video ofthe current channel in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 11 shows an illustrative program guide screen in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 12 is an illustrative display screen showing how an interactivetelevision application may provide a user with an opportunity to set aprogram reminder in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an illustrative display screen showing how a reminder may beprovided for a user in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a display screen showing an illustrative video-on-demand menuthat may be used to select a category of video-on-demand content inaccordance with the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a display screen showing an illustrative video-on-demand menuscreen that may be used to locate a desired type of movie in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 16 shows an illustrative title menu that may be used to select avideo-on-demand title of interest in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIGS. 17 a and 17 b are illustrative video-on-demand information screensthat may be used to access video-on-demand content in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 18 is an illustrative display screen showing how video-on-demandplayback controls may be displayed while video-on-demand content isbeing displayed for the user in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 19 a and 19 b are illustrative display screens showing how auser's scheduled recordings may be presented and selected in aninteractive list in accordance with the present invention.

FIGS. 20 a and 20 b are illustrative display screens showing how auser's recordings may be presented and selected from an interactive listin accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 21 is an illustrative display screen showing how video for arecording selected from the list of FIG. 18 may be displayed for theuser in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 22 is an illustrative display screen showing how the user may beprovided with options that allow the user to schedule a recording of adesired program in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 23 a is an illustrative display screen showing how a user may setparental controls for a given program in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 23 b is an illustrative display screen showing how a user may blockcontent by creating a time-based parental control setting in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 24 is an illustrative display screen showing how the user may beprovided with an opportunity to reschedule viewing of a desiredtelevision program using the network-based or local personal videorecorder features of the present invention.

FIG. 25 is an illustrative display screen showing another way in whichthe user may be provided with an opportunity to reschedule viewing of adesired television program using the network-based or local personalvideo recorder features of the present invention.

FIG. 26 is an illustrative display screen showing yet another way inwhich the user may be provided with an opportunity to reschedule viewingof a desired television program using the network-based or localpersonal video recorder features of the present invention.

FIG. 27 is an illustrative display screen showing how a program remindermay be provided that includes options such as a watch later option andan archive-to-personal-area option in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 28 is an illustrative display screen showing how the user may beprovided with options for scheduling a new viewing time after selectingan option such as the watch later option of FIG. 27 in accordance withthe present invention.

FIG. 29 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in handlingreminder and viewing rescheduling in a network-based or local personalvideo recorder environment in which substantially all broadcastprogramming is being recorded in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 30 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in handlingreminder and viewing rescheduling in a network-based or local personalvideo recorder environment in which some broadcast programming is beingrecorded in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 31 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in handlingreminder and viewing rescheduling in a network-based or local personalvideo recorder environment in which broadcast programming is recordedbased on user requests in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 32 is an illustrative display screen showing how archived contentin a user's personal area on the network or local PVR may be organizedaccording to programming categories in accordance with the presentinvention.

FIG. 33 is a flow chart of illustrative steps involved in usinginformation on the desirability of retaining certain programming todetermine which programs to delete and which to retain in storage inaccordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An illustrative interactive television system 10 in accordance with thepresent invention is shown in FIG. 1. Content such as televisionprogramming and digital music may be provided from programming sources12 to television distribution facilities such as television distributionfacility 14 using communications path 16. Programming sources 12 may beany suitable sources of television and music programming, such astelevision and music production studios, etc.

Television distribution facility 14 may be a cable system headend, asatellite television distribution facility, a television broadcastfacility, or any other suitable facility for distributing television andmusic programming to users. There are typically numerous televisiondistribution facilities 14 in system 10, but only one is shown in FIG. 1to avoid overcomplicating the drawings.

Communications path 16 may be a satellite path, a fiber-optic path, acable path, or any other suitable wired or wireless communications pathsor a combination of such paths.

Television distribution facility 14 may be connected to various userequipment devices 18. Such user equipment 18 may, for example, belocated in the homes of users. User equipment 18 may include usertelevision equipment 20 or user computer equipment 22.

The user equipment may receive television and music programming andother information from television distribution facility 14 overcommunications paths such as communications paths 26, 27, and 28. Theuser equipment may also transmit signals to television distributionfacility 14 over paths 26, 27, and 28. Paths 26, 27, and 28 may becables or other wired connections, free-space connections (e.g., forbroadcast or other wireless signals), satellite links, etc.

Data source 30 may include a program listings database that is used toprovide the user with television program schedule information such asscheduled broadcast times, titles, channels, ratings information (e.g.,parental ratings and critic's ratings), detailed title descriptions,genre or category information (e.g., sports, news, movies, etc.),information on actors and actresses, running times, etc. Data source 30may also be used to provide advertisements (e.g., program guideadvertisements and advertisements for other interactive televisionapplications), real-time data such as sports scores, stock quotes, news,weather, etc. Although data source 30 is drawn as an individual box inFIG. 1, data source 30 and the other system components of FIG. 1 may beprovided using equipment at one or more locations. Systems componentsare drawn as single boxes in FIG. 1 to avoid over-complicating thedrawings.

Data source 30 may provide program schedule information and other datato television distribution facility 14 over communications path 32 fordistribution to the associated user equipment over paths 26, 27, and 28.Communications path 32 may be any suitable communications path such as asatellite communications path or other wireless path, a fiber-optic orother wired communications path, a path that supports Internetcommunications, a combination of such paths, etc. Data source 30 mayprovide program schedule information and other data to the user at userequipment 18 over path 38, communications network 34, and path 42. Path42 may be a wired path such as a telephone line, a cable path, afiber-optic path, a satellite path, a wireless path, a combination ofsuch paths, or any other suitable path.

User equipment devices such as user television equipment and personalcomputers may use the program schedule information to display programlistings and information on digital music for the user. An interactivetelevision program guide application or other suitable application maybe used to display such information on the user's display.

An on-line program guide and other interactive television services maybe provided using a server connected to communications network 34 suchas server 36. Server 36 may receive program schedule information andother data from data source 30 via communications path 38,communications network 34, and communications path 40. Paths 38 and 40may be satellite paths, fiber-optic paths, wired paths, etc.Communications network 34 may be any suitable communications network,such as the Internet, the public switched telephone network, apacket-based network, etc.

User equipment 18 may access on-line program guide information and otherinformation from server 36 via communications path 42. User equipment 18may also access the on-line program guide and other services on server36 via communications path 26, television distribution facility 14, andcommunications path 44. For example, a cable modem or other suitableequipment may be used by user equipment 18 to communicate withtelevision distribution facility 14. Television distribution facility 14may communicate with communications network 34 over any suitable path44, such as a wired path, a cable path, a fiber-optic path, a satellitepath, a wireless path, a combination of such paths, etc.

User equipment such as user television equipment 20 and user computerequipment 22 may access the on-line program guide and server 36 usingsimilar arrangements. User television equipment 20 may access theon-line program guide and server 36 using communications path 46 orusing path 27, television distribution facility 14, and path 44. Usercomputer equipment 22 may access the on-line program guide and server 36using communications path 48 or using path 28, television distributionfacility 14, and path 44. Paths 46 and 48 may be any suitable paths,such as wired paths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, satellite paths,wireless paths, a combination of such paths, etc.

Program guide application functions and the functions of otherinteractive television applications may be supported using server 36 andother servers connected to communications network 34 such as server 56.Interactive television applications may also be supported by servers orother suitable equipment at one or more service providers such asservice provider 50. For example, a home shopping service may besupported by a service provider such as service provider 50 that hassales representatives, order fulfillment facilities, account maintenancefacilities, and other equipment for supporting interactive home shoppingfeatures. A home shopping application that is implemented using the userequipment may be used to access the service provider to provide thesefeatures to the user. The user equipment may access service provider 50via television distribution facility 14 and communications path 52 orvia communications network 34 and communications path 54. Communicationspaths such as paths 52 and 54 may be any suitable paths, such as wiredpaths, cable paths, fiber-optic paths, satellite paths, wireless paths,a combination of such paths, etc.

Another example of an interactive television application is a homebanking application. A home banking service may be supported usingpersonnel at facilities such as service provider 50. An interactive homebanking application that is implemented using the user equipment mayaccess the home banking service via television distribution facility 14and communications path 52 or via communications network 34 andcommunications path 54.

If desired, an interactive television application such as anetwork-based video recorder or a video-on-demand application may besupported using server 56, server 36, or equipment at service provider50. Video-on-demand content and video recorded using a network-basedvideo recorder arrangement may be stored on server 56 or server 36 or atservice provider 50 and may be provided to the user equipment whenrequested by users. An interactive television application may be used tosupport the functions of a personal video recorder (sometimes called adigital video recorder) that is implemented using user equipment 18.Illustrative equipment that may be used to support personal videorecorder functions include specialized personal video recorder devices,integrated receiver decoders (IRDs), set-top boxes with integrated orexternal hard drives, or personal computers with video recordingcapabilities.

If desired, applications such as the interactive television programguide application, a home shopping application, a home bankingapplication, a video-on-demand application, game applications, and otherapplications (e.g., applications related to e-mail and chat or othercommunications functions, etc.) may be provided as separate applicationsthat are accessed through a navigation shell application (i.e., a menuapplication with menu options corresponding to the applications). Thefeatures of such applications may be combined. For example, games,video-on-demand services, home shopping, network-based video recorderfunctions, personal video recorder functions, navigational functions,program guide functions, communications functions, and other suitablefunctions may be provided using one application or any other suitablenumber of applications.

Moreover, the interactive television program guide application, the homebanking application, the home shopping application, the network-basedvideo recorder and personal video recorder applications, thevideo-on-demand application, the gaming applications, communicationsapplications, and navigational applications, are only a few illustrativeexamples of the types of interactive television applications that may besupported by system 10. Other suitable applications that may besupported include, news services, web browsing and other Internetservices, and interactive wagering services (e.g., for wagering on horseraces and the like).

The interactive television application or applications that are used ininteractive television system 10 may be implemented locally on the userequipment. The applications may also be implemented in a distributedfashion (e.g., using a client-server architecture in which the userequipment serves at least partly and for at least some of the time, asthe client and a server such as server 56 at television distributionfacility 14, server 36, or other suitable equipment acts as the server.Other distributed architectures may also be used if desired. Moreover,some or all of the interactive television system features of system 10may be provided using operating system software or middleware software.Such operating system software and middleware may be used instead of orin combination with application-level software. Regardless of theparticular arrangement used to implement interactive television featuresrelated to program guides, home shopping, home banking, video-on-demand,Internet, communications, etc., the software that supports thesefeatures may be referred to as an application or applications.

Illustrative user television equipment 20 that is based on a set-top boxarrangement is shown in FIG. 2. Input/output 58 may be connected tocommunications paths such as paths 27 and 46. Input/output functions maybe provided by one or more wires or communications paths, but are shownas a single path in FIG. 2 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing.Television programming and other information may be received usinginput/output 58. Commands and requests and other information from theuser may also be transmitted over input/output 58.

Set-top box 60 may be any suitable analog or digital set-top box (e.g.,a cable set-top box). Set-top box 60 may contain an analog tuner fortuning to a desired analog television channel. Set-top box 60 may alsocontain digital decoding circuitry for receiving digital television andmusic channels. Both analog and digital channels may be handled togetherif desired. Multiple tuners may be provided (e.g., to handlesimultaneous watch and record functions). Box 60 may be an integratedreceiver decoder (IRD) that handles satellite television. If desired,box 60 may have circuitry for handling cable, over-the-air broadcast,and satellite content. Box 60 may include a storage device (e.g., adigital storage device such as a hard disk drive) for providingrecording capabilities. Box 60 may also be connected to a recordingdevice 62 such as a video cassette recorder, personal video recorder, orother device or devices with storage capabilities.

Set-top box 60 contains a processor (e.g., a microcontroller ormicroprocessor or the like) that is used to execute softwareapplications. Set-top box 60 may contain memory such as random-accessmemory for use when executing applications. Nonvolatile memory may alsobe used (e.g., to launch a boot-up routine and other instructions). Harddisk storage in box 60 or in recording device 62 may be used to back updata and to otherwise support larger databases and storage requirementsthan may be supported using random-access memory approaches.

Set-top box 60 may have infrared (IR) or other communications circuitryfor communicating with a remote control or wireless keyboard. Set-topbox 60 may also have dedicated buttons and a front-panel display. Thefront-panel display may, for example, be used to display the currentchannel to which the set-top box is tuned.

Set-top box 60 may also have communications circuitry such as a cablemodem, an integrated services digital network (ISDN) modem, a digitalsubscriber line (DSL) modem, a telephone modem, a wireless modem, etc.for communications with other equipment. Such communications may involvethe Internet or any other suitable communications networks or paths. Ifdesired, the components of set-top box 60 may be integrated into otheruser equipment (e.g., a television or videocassette recorder).

Recording device 62 may be used to record videos provided by set-top box60. For example, if set-top box 60 is tuned to a given televisionchannel, the video signal for that television channel may be passed torecording device 62 for recording on a videocassette, compact disc,digital video disk, or internal hard drive or other storage device.Recording device 62 may have communications circuitry such as a cablemodem, an ISDN modem, a DSL modem, a telephone modem, etc. forcommunications with other equipment. Such communications may involve theInternet or any other suitable communications networks or paths. Thecomponents of recording device 62 may be integrated into other userequipment (e.g., a television, stereo equipment, etc.).

Recording device 62 may be controlled using a remote control or othersuitable user interface. If desired, video recorder functions such asstart, stop, record, etc. and other functions for device 62 may becontrolled by set-top box 60. For example, set-top box 60 may controlrecording device 62 using infrared commands directed toward the remotecontrol inputs of recording device 62 or set-top box 60 may controlrecording device 62 using other wired or wireless communications pathsbetween box 60 and device 62.

The output of recording device 62 may be provided to television 64 fordisplay to the user. If desired, multiple recording devices 62 or norecording device 62 may be used. If recording device 62 is not presentor is not being actively used, the video signals from set-top box 60 maybe provided directly to television 64. Any suitable television ormonitor may be used to display the video. In the equipment of FIG. 2 andthe other equipment of system 10, the audio associated with variousvideo items is typically distributed with those video items and isgenerally played back to the user as the videos are played.

Another illustrative arrangement for user television equipment 20 isshown in FIG. 3. In the example of FIG. 3, user television equipment 20includes a recording device 66 such as a digital video recorder (e.g., apersonal video recorder (PVR)) that uses a hard disk or other storagefor recording video or may be a digital video disc recorder, compactdisc recorder, videocassette recorder, or other suitable recordingdevice. Equipment 20 of FIG. 3 may also include a television 68.Input/output 70 may be connected to communications paths such as paths27 and 46. Television programming and other information may be receivedusing input/output 70. Commands and requests and other information fromthe user may be transmitted over input/output 70.

Recording device 66 may contain at least one analog tuner for tuning toa desired analog television channel. Recording device 66 may alsocontain digital decoding circuitry for receiving digital television andmusic channels. If desired, recording device 66 may contain circuitryfor handling both analog and digital channels. Recording device 66 alsocontains a processor (e.g., multiple tuners may be provided, amicrocontroller or microprocessor or the like) that is used to executesoftware applications. Recording device 66 may contain memory such asrandom-access memory for use when executing applications. Nonvolatilememory may also be used to store a boot-up routine or otherinstructions. The hard disk and other storage in recording device 66 maybe used to support databases (e.g., program guide databases orinteractive television application databases). The hard disk or otherstorage in recording device 66 may also be used to record video such astelevision programs or video-on-demand content or other content providedto recording device 66 over input/output 70.

Recording device 66 may have IR communications circuitry or othersuitable communications circuitry for communicating with a remotecontrol. Recording device 66 may also have dedicated buttons and afront-panel display. The front-panel display may, for example, be usedto display the current channel to which the recording device is tuned.

Recording device 66 may also have communications circuitry such as acable modem, an ISDN modem, a DSL modem, a telephone modem, a wirelessmodem, etc. for communications with other equipment. Such communicationsmay involve the Internet or other suitable communications networks orpaths.

If desired, recording device 66 may include a satellite receiver orother equipment that has wireless communications circuitry for receivingsatellite signals.

Recording device 66 of FIG. 3 or recording device 62 of FIG. 2 mayrecord new video while previously recorded video is being played back ontelevision 68 or 64. This allows users to press a pause button duringnormal television viewing. When the pause button is pressed, the currenttelevision program is stored on the hard disk of digital video recorder66. When the user presses play, the recorded video may be played back.This arrangement allows the user to seamlessly pause and resumetelevision viewing. Recording device 66 and 62 may also be used to allowa user to watch a previously-recorded program while simultaneouslyrecording a new program.

The set-top box arrangement of FIG. 2 and the digital video recorderset-top box arrangement of FIG. 3 are merely illustrative. Otherarrangements may be used if desired. For example, user televisionequipment may be based on a WebTV box, a personal computer television(PC/TV), or any other suitable television equipment arrangement. Ifdesired, the functions of components such as set-top box 60, digitalvideo recorder 66, a WebTV box, or PC/TV or the like may be integratedinto a television or personal computer or other suitable device.

An illustrative remote control 72 for operating user televisionequipment 20 (or suitable user computer equipment 22) is shown in FIG.4. Remote control 72 may have function keys 74 and other keys 76 such askeypad keys, power on/off keys, pause, stop, fast-forward and reversekeys, etc. Volume up and down keys 78 may be used for adjusting thevolume of the audio portion of a video. Channel up and down keys 80 maybe used to change television channels and to access content on virtualchannels. Cursor keys 82 may be used to navigate on-screen menus. Forexample, cursor keys 82 may be used to position an on-screen cursor,indicator, or highlight (sometimes all generically referred to herein asa highlight or highlight region) to indicate interest in a particularoption or other item on a screen displayed by the interactive televisionapplication.

An OK key 84 (sometimes called a select or enter key) may be used toselect on-screen options that the user has highlighted.

Keys 74 may include a record key 86 for initiating recordings. Menubutton 88 may be used to direct the interactive television applicationto display a menu on the user's display screen (e.g., on television 64or 68 or on a suitable monitor or computer display). Info button 90 maybe used to direct the interactive television application to display aninformation display screen. If the user has highlighted a particularprogram listing, for example, pressing the info button 90 may direct theinteractive television application to provide additional programschedule information related to that program listing (e.g., a programsummary, actor information, etc.).

Lock button 92 may be used to modify access privileges. For example, aparent may use lock button 92 or on-screen options to establish parentalcontrol settings for the interactive television application. Theparental control settings may be time-based settings (e.g., to prevent achild from watching television during a particular time block such asfrom 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM). The parental control settings may also be usedto block programming based on rating, channel, program title, etc. Alocked or blocked program is typically not viewable until theinteractive television application is provided with a suitable personalidentification number (PIN). Once this PIN has been entered, theinteractive television program will unlock the user's equipment andallow the locked content to be accessed.

Exit button 94 may be used to exit the interactive televisionapplication or to exit a portion of the interactive televisionapplication. Guide button 96 may be used to invoke the interactivetelevision program guide.

The keys shown in FIG. 4 are merely illustrative. Other keys or buttonsmay be provided if desired. For example, a music button may be used toaccess music with the interactive television application. An edit buttonmay be used to edit stored content (e.g., to remove commercials, removeportions of a video, etc.). Alphanumeric buttons may be used to enteralphanumeric characters. A last or back button may be used to browsebackward in the interactive television application (e.g., to return to aprevious channel or display screen). Video recorder function buttonssuch as a play button, pause button, stop button, rewind button,fast-forward button, and record button, may be used to control videorecorder functions (local or network-based) in system 10. A help key maybe used to invoke help functions such as context-sensitive on-screenhelp, etc.

Illustrative user computer equipment 22 is shown in FIG. 5. In thearrangement of FIG. 5, personal computer 98 may be controlled by theuser using keyboard 100 or other suitable user input device, such as atrackball, mouse, touch pad, touch screen, voice recognition system, aremote control such as remote control 72 of FIG. 4, etc. Video contentsuch as television programming and interactive television applicationdisplay screens may be displayed on monitor 102. Television programming,video-on-demand content, video recordings played back from anetwork-based video recorder, and other information may be received frompaths 28 and 48 (FIG. 1) using input/output 104. The user may also sendcommands and other information used during interactions with theinteractive television application and system 10 over input/output line104.

Personal computer unit 98 may contain a television or video card such astelevision tuner card for decoding analog and digital televisionchannels and for handling streaming video content. Multiple video cards(e.g., tuner cards) may be provided if desired. An illustrativetelevision tuner card that may be used may contain an analog televisiontuner for tuning to a given analog channel and digital decodingcircuitry for filtering out a desired digital television or musicchannel from a packetized digital data stream. Any suitable card orcomponents in computer unit 98 may be used to handle video and othercontent delivered via input/output line 104 if desired.

Personal computer unit 98 may contain one or more processors (e.g.,microprocessors) that are used to run the interactive televisionapplication or a portion of the interactive television application.

Storage in personal computer unit 98 such as a hard drive, DVD drive, CDdrive, or other suitable storage device or devices may be used to storevideo and other content. For example, the interactive televisionapplication and personal computer unit 98 may use this storage toprovide the functions of a personal video recorder.

User equipment 18 such as user television equipment 20 and user computerequipment 22 may be used with network equipment such as server 56,server 36, and equipment at service providers such as service provider50 of FIG. 1 to provide network-based video recording functions. Videorecording functions may be provided by storing copies of televisionprograms and other video content on a remote server (e.g., server 56 orserver 36 of FIG. 1) or other network-based equipment such as equipmentat a service provider such as service provider 50.

Video recordings may be made in response to user commands that areentered at user equipment 18. In a personal video recorder arrangement,the interactive television application may be used to record videolocally on the user equipment in response to the user commands. In anetwork-based video recorder arrangement, the interactive televisionapplication may be used to record video or to make virtual recordings onnetwork equipment such as server 36, 56, or equipment at serviceprovider 50 in response to the user commands. The user commands may beprovided to the network equipment over the communications paths shown inFIG. 1. The personal video recorder arrangement and the network-basedvideo recorder arrangement can support functions such as fast-forward,rewind, pause, play, and record.

To avoid unnecessary duplication in a network-based video recorderenvironment, the system 10 may provide network-based video recordingcapabilities by using virtual copies or recordings. With this approach,each user may be provided with a personal area on the network thatcontains a list of that user's recordings. The video content need onlybe stored once (or a relatively small number of times) on the networkequipment, even though a large number of users may have that videocontent listed as one of their recordings in their network-based videorecorder personal area.

The user television equipment and user computer equipment arrangementsdescribed above are merely illustrative. A more generalized embodimentof illustrative user equipment is shown in FIG. 6.

As shown in FIG. 6, control circuitry 106 is connected to input/output108. Input/output 108 may be connected to one or more communicationspaths such as paths 26, 27, 28, 42, 46, and 48 of FIG. 1. Television andmusic programming may be received via input/output 108 (e.g., fromprogramming sources 12, servers or other equipment such as server 36,service providers such as service provider 50, and televisiondistribution facility 14). Program schedule information for aninteractive television program guide may be received from data source 30via input/output 108. Input/output 108 may also be used to receiveinformation from data source 30 for other interactive televisionapplications. The user may use control circuitry 106 to send commands,requests, and other suitable information using input/output 108.

Control circuitry 106 may be based on any suitable processing circuitry110 such as processing circuitry based on one or more microprocessors,microcontrollers, digital signal processors, programmable logic devices,etc. Memory (e.g., random-access memory and read-only memory), harddrives, DVD drives, CD drives, or any other suitable memory or storagedevices may be provided as storage 112 that is part of control circuitry106. Tuning circuitry such as one or more analog tuners, one or moreMPEG-2 decoders or other digital video circuitry, or any other suitabletuning or video circuits or combinations of such circuits may also beincluded as part of circuitry 106. Encoding circuitry (e.g., forconverting over-the-air or cable analog signals to MPEG signals forstorage) may also be provided. The tuning and encoding circuitry may beused by the user equipment to receive and display or play or record aparticular television or music channel or other desired audio and videocontent (e.g., video-on-demand content or requested network-based orlocal video recorder playback). Television programming and other videoand on-screen options and information may be displayed on display 114.Display 114 may be a monitor, a television, or any other suitableequipment for displaying visual images. Speakers 116 may be provided aspart of a television or may be stand-alone units. Digital music and theaudio component of videos displayed on display 114 may be played throughspeakers 116.

A user may control the control circuitry 106 using user input interface118. The user input interface 118 may be any suitable user interface,such as a mouse, trackball, keypad, keyboard, touch screen, touch pad,voice recognition interface, remote control, etc.

An illustrative menu 120 that may be displayed on the user's displayscreen is shown in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, menu 120 may provide theuser with an number of selectable options. The options shown in FIG. 7are merely illustrative. Any suitable options may be provided ifdesired.

A user of user equipment 18 (e.g., a user of user television equipment20 or a user of user computer equipment 22, or a user of any othersuitable user equipment device) may invoke an interactive televisionmenu such as menu screen 120 by pressing menu button 88 (FIG. 4). Remotecontrol 72 (FIG. 4) or other user interface 118 (FIG. 6) may be used toposition highlight region 121 on top of selectable options such asoptions 122-135. If the user selects option 122 or 123, a screen ofprogram listings may be displayed. Option 124 may be used to displayprogram listings for channels designated by the user as “favorites.”Option 125 may be used to provide program listings selected forpromotion by a service provider (e.g., a program guide service provider,a cable operator, etc.). Option 126 may be used to invoke a homeshopping service. Options 127 may be used to search program listings bytitle, time, category, or any other criteria. Option 128 may be selectedto display options related to video-on-demand services. Option 129 maybe selected to display an interactive list of previously recordedrecordings and option 131 may be selected to display an interactive listof programs scheduled for recording. Option 130 may be selected todisplay pay-per-view program listings and pay-per-view services options.If the user selects option 132, the user may be presented with anopportunity to access home banking functions. Option 133 may be selectedto change system setup options and option 134 may be selected to launcha web browser or other application for accessing the Internet. Option135 may be selected to access other interactive television services.When the user selects an option with highlight region 121 from menuscreen 120, the user's selection may be described in information displayregion 136.

If desired, program guide screens such as menu screen 120 and otherinteractive television application screens may include selectableadvertisements 137. Any suitable advertisements may be provided,including panel advertisements, banner advertisements, advertisementsprovided between program listings, advertisements provided on certainprogram listings or other portions of the screen, or any other suitableadvertisements. A user may use cursor keys 82 of remote control 72 (FIG.4) to position a highlight region on an advertisement of interest andmay select the highlighted advertisement using OK key 84. Users of otheruser interfaces may make appropriate selections using the buttons orcontrols available through those interfaces (e.g., using voice commandsif the user interface involves a voice recognition arrangement, etc.).

An illustrative program guide screen 138 that may be displayed for theuser is shown in FIG. 8. Program guide screen 138 may be displayed, forexample, when the user selects program listings option 122 of FIG. 7,when the user selects a suitable option from within an interactivetelevision program guide application or other interactive televisionapplication, or when the user presses an appropriate remote controlbutton such as guide button 96 or otherwise uses user input interface118 to indicate a desire to view program listings.

Program guide screen 138 may contain a grid or list of program listings143. Program listings 143 may include program titles, channels,scheduled broadcast times, and any other suitable program scheduleinformation. Highlight region 142 may be used to select a desiredprogram listing 144. Program Information for selected programs mayappear elsewhere on program guide screen 138 (e.g., in programinformation display region 139). If the user presses OK key 84 when aprogram listing for a current program is highlighted, the interactivetelevision application may tune to the channel for that program. If theuser presses OK key 84 when a program listing for a future program ishighlighted, the interactive television application may provide the userwith an opportunity to set a reminder for that program or to record thatprogram.

Other functions that the interactive television application may provideinclude the ability to set favorites or establish preferences or othersettings. For example, the user may select a particular channel for theprogram guide to automatically tune to when the user equipment is turnedon. The user may also select favorite programs, favorite channels, etc.The program guide or other interactive television application mayprovide the user with the ability to establish parental controlsettings, the ability to search for programming of interest, and theability to view program descriptions, advertisements, text, graphics,and video, etc. These are merely illustrative examples of interactivetelevision functions that may be provided by interactive televisionsystem 10. Other suitable interactive television functions may beprovided if desired.

A user may access program listings (e.g., program listings of the typeshown in FIG. 8) by using the interactive television application toselect an on-screen option such as option 122 and 123 of FIG. 7, bypressing a dedicated guide button such as guide button 96 on remotecontrol 72, by selecting any other suitable button or on-screen option,etc. In the example of FIG. 8, program listings are currently beingdisplayed for television programs that air between 12:00 noon and 1:00PM. As shown by arrows 140 and 141, the user may use right or leftcursor keys to navigate to other times (e.g., to direct the interactivetelevision application to display appropriate screens of programlistings 143 for different time periods). If desired, the user mayselect options or press keys (or use user input interface 118 tootherwise enter suitable commands) that direct the interactivetelevision application to display program listings organized by channel,by genre, by service type (e.g., pay-per-view or regular broadcasttelevision), etc.

Selectable options, such as options 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 151,and 152, may be provided as part of program guide screen 138 or anyother program guide screen for providing access to various interactivetelevision application features. For example, option 145 may be used todisplay a home screen or main menu, such as menu screen 120 of FIG. 7.Option 146 may be selected to display program listings for channelsdesignated by the user as “favorites.” Option 147 may be selected todisplay listings of recommended programs using highlight region 142.Scroll indicators 148 and 149 may be used to navigate down and upthrough program listings. Option 150 may be selected to displayinformation related to video-on-demand services. Option 151 may beselected to search television program listings by title, time, category,or any other suitable criteria. Option 152 may be selected to displayinformation related to digital music services.

The interactive television application may provide a “flip” tuningfeature. As shown in FIG. 9, when the user invokes the flip mode, flipdisplay 153 may be provided over a portion of a channel (i.e., channel2) that the user is currently tuned to and is watching on display screen154. Flip display 153 contains information (in region 156) on theprogram 155 appearing on the current channel (channel 2) to which theset-top box 60 or other user equipment is tuned. The user may change thechannel using channel up and down keys on the remote control or usinguser interface 118 to issue other suitable channel change commands. Thissimultaneously changes the channel to which the set-top box 60 or otheruser equipment is tuned and the channel information displayed in region156 (and the associated program information 155).

The flip display 153 may be removed manually or automatically (e.g.,after a few seconds or other suitable time period of user inactivity).When the user starts changing channels again, the flip display 153 maybe displayed again.

The flip feature of the interactive television application thereforeallows the user to view program information for the channel that theuser is currently viewing as the user changes channels. In the exampleof FIG. 9, the flip display 153 is displayed in the form of an overlayon top of the current channel. If desired, the video for the currentchannel may be reduced in size and the flip information (e.g., theprogram title and channel information for the current program) may bedisplayed at a location on the periphery of the reduced-size video(e.g., at the bottom, side, or top of the reduced-size video).

An advertisement 158 or other content may be provided in the flipdisplay region if desired. Other optional information that may bedisplayed in flip display 153 includes information on the scheduledbroadcast times for the program 155, ratings information, programdescriptions, and other program-related information.

The interactive television application may also be used to provide abrowse feature. As shown in FIG. 10, when the user invokes the browsefeature (e.g., by pressing an up or down cursor key), browse display 160may be displayed as an overlay over a portion of the channel (i.e.,channel 2) that is being displayed on the user's display screen 162 andto which the user is currently tuned. Browse display 160 may initiallycontain information on the current channel. For example, browse display160 may, when initially invoked by the user, contain the title of thecurrent program and information on the current channel such as thecurrent channel number, call letters, and network logo.

When the user presses the up or down cursor key (or enters othersuitable commands using user interface 118), the browse display may bechanged to display information on the programming available on otherchannels. In the example of FIG. 10, the user has pressed the cursorkeys repeatedly, until the user has browsed to channel 99. The videothat is being displayed on display screen 162 has not changed in thisexample (channel 2 is still being displayed).

As indicated by arrows 166, the user may use right and left cursor keys82 (or other suitable controls) to browse to other time slots (e.g., toview information related to programming that is scheduled for broadcastat a later time). Browse display 160 may contain an advertisement 168,information 170 on scheduled program times, program descriptions andother program-related information and icons such as check icon 163 (toindicate that a reminder has been set for a given program) and ratingsicon 161.

If the user locates a currently available program of interest on anotherchannel, the user may press the OK key 84 to direct the interactivetelevision application to tune the user equipment to that channel.

The browse display 160 may be removed manually or may be removedautomatically from display screen 162 after a suitable period of userinactivity (e.g., after a few seconds or a minute or two).

If desired, the browse display can be displayed on the periphery of thevideo for the current program rather than as an overlay. The video forthe current channel may be reduced in size accordingly.

When the user has indicated interest in a program (e.g., by positioninghighlight region 142 of FIG. 8 on top of a given program listing, bytuning to a program, by viewing a program listing on the flip banner ofFIG. 9 or the browse banner of FIG. 10, etc.), the user may press infokey 90 (FIG. 4) to obtain more information for that program.Illustrative info screens 171 and 180 that may be displayed when a userpresses info button 90 are shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, respectively.Screens such as screens 171 and 180 may be provided when a user selectsa program listing from a interactive television application screen(e.g., program guide screen 138 of FIG. 8). Info screen 171 of FIG. 11may include a detailed description 172 of a program selected by theuser. Description 172 may include, for example, the title, time,channel, and rating of the program, or any other suitable information.As in FIG. 8, selectable options may be provided as part of info screen171 to provide access to various interactive television applicationfeatures. For example, option 174 may be used to return to the previousprogram guide screen. Option 175 may be used to tune to the selectedprogram or set a reminder for the selected program (e.g., the programfor which information is displaying in description 172). Option 176 maybe selected to display recording options and services for the selectedprogram. Option 177 may be selected to display options for adding areminder for the selected program. Option 178 may be used to displayoptions for adding the selected program or channel to a user'sfavorites, and option 179 may be used to display options for providing aparental lock on the selected program. Selectable options for otherinteractive television application features may also be provided. Ahighlight region may be used to select any of the selectable optionsprovided by a program guide screen. Information describing a highlightedoption may be provided, for example, in information display region 173.

Information screens may include advertisements. For example, info screen180 of FIG. 12 may include selectable advertisements 181. Informationregions on screen 180 such as title region 182 and program descriptionregion 186 may be used to display information on the selected programsuch as title information, ratings information, plot summaryinformation, information about actors, genre, critics ratings, etc.

Region 190 may be used to inform the user of the possibility of settinga reminder for the selected program, of tuning to the channel showingthe selected program, of recording the selected program, of purchasingthe selected program if it is a pay-per-view program, of parentallycontrolling the selected program, of configuring a related profile orpreference settings, or performing any other suitable action related tothe selected program. Region 190 may also be used to provide additionalinformation related to the selected program. The user may positionhighlight region 184 on top of either yes option 183 or no option 185 orany other suitable options (e.g., options to tune to the channel, torecord the program, to purchase the program, to parentally control theprogram, to configure the preference settings, etc.). When the userpresses the OK key 84, the interactive television application may thentake appropriate actions. If the user opts to set a reminder for theprogram listed in the info screen 180, the interactive televisionapplication may display a pop-up reminder overlay on top of the videofor the channel that the user is currently watching just before theprogram associated with the reminder is scheduled to begin, or anysuitable display screen that is active at the time that the reminderpops up (e.g., a program listings screen).

An illustrative reminder is shown in FIG. 13. In the example of FIG. 13,the user is watching channel 3. The current time is 6:58 PM. Previously,the user set a reminder for the program “On The Riviera,” which isscheduled to be shown on channel 39 at 7:00 PM. Because the program forwhich the user set the reminder is just about to begin, the interactivetelevision application displays reminder list 192 as an overlay on topof the video for channel 3 that is being presented on display screen194. The reminder list may contain a list of one or more programs forwhich the user has set reminders. In the example of FIG. 13, one programlisting 196 (“On The Riviera”) is displayed.

The user can tune to a program by selecting that program from thereminder list 192. For example, the user may position highlight region198 on listing 196 and may select that listing by pressing the OK key84. The interactive television application may then tune the user to thechannel for the desired program (i.e., channel 39 in this example).

The user can close the reminder list by pressing the OK key 84 whilehide reminder option 200 is highlighted.

The reminder list may be displayed at any suitable time (e.g., at 0-15minutes before the program of interest is to begin, at a user-selectedtime before that program, etc.). Moreover, the reminder list may bedisplayed around the periphery of the video for the current channel andthe video for the current channel may be displayed in a reduced-sizewindow. These are merely illustrative examples. Any suitable arrangementmay be used to notify the user of upcoming programs or in-progressprograms for which the user has set reminders and other programs ofinterest.

The interactive television application may be used to provide the userwith access to video-on-demand content. The user may, for example, beprovided with an option such as video-on-demand option 128 on menuscreen 120 of FIG. 7. When the user selects option 128, the interactivetelevision application may display a screen such as video-on-demandcategories screen 202 of FIG. 14. Screen 202 may include logos such aslogo 204, selectable (or non-selectable) advertisements such asadvertisements 206, and a screen title 208. The user may positionhighlight region 210 on an option 212 corresponding to a video-on-demandcategory of interest.

When the user selects the video-on-demand category of interest fromscreen 202, the interactive television application may display a displayscreen such as subcategory selection screen 214 of FIG. 15. In theexample of FIG. 15, the subcategories screen 214 contains subcategoryoptions 220 corresponding to movies, because (in this example) the userselected movies A-Z option 212 from screen 202 in FIG. 14. Video window221 may be provided in any video-on-demand information screen and mayprovide information relating to a video-on-demand program selected bythe user or any other suitable video information.

The user may position highlight region 218 onto a desired subcategory220 and may press OK key 84 to view a list of available video-on-demandcontent associated with that subcategory. An illustrative display screen222 that the interactive television application may display for the userwhen the action subcategory option 220 (FIG. 15) is selected is shown inFIG. 16. As shown in FIG. 16, display screen 222 may include informationidentifying the selected subcategory 224. Screen 222 may also include alist 226 of titles 230 (or other content indicators). The user mayposition highlight region 228 on a desired video-on-demand title 230 andmay press the OK key to proceed with the selection of that title.

Selecting a desired video-on-demand title 230 from title selectionscreen 222 may direct the interactive television application to displaya video-on-demand information screen such as information screen 232 ofFIG. 17 a. Screen 232 may include information 236 on the selectedvideo-on-demand content, such as title, run time, price, rating, and adescription of the selected video-on-demand content.

Selectable options, such as options 234, 235, 237, and 238 may beprovided as part of screen 232 to provide access to various interactivetelevision application features. For example, option 238 may be selectedto access options for ordering the selected video-on-demand content.Option 237 may be used to access options for recording the selectedcontent, and option 235 may be used to access options for settingparental control locks for the selected content. If the user selectsoption 234, the interactive television application may display a videoclip containing information on the video-on-demand content of interest(e.g., a promotional video such as a preview, a trailer, a review,etc.). The video clip may be delivered to the user equipment 18 from aserver such as server 36 or server 56 of FIG. 1 or from equipment at aservice provider such a service provider 50. The interactive televisionapplication may also provide the user with additional information on thevideo-on-demand content in response to the user selecting option 234.Other suitable selectable options may also be provided on screen 232(e.g., a program package information and purchase option, options forsearching program listings for related content, etc.).

If a user requests information for video-on-demand content that hasalready been ordered, the interactive television application may providevideo-on-demand information screen such as screen 239 of FIG. 17 b,which may include selectable options different than those provided forscreen 232 of FIG. 17 a. For example, option 240 may be used to startplaying selected video-on-demand content from the program position mostrecently viewed. Option 241 may be used to present the selected contentfrom the beginning, and option 242 may be used to access options forrecording the content. Option 243 may be used to remove the selectedcontent from a listing of the ordered and available content. Option 244may be used to access options for setting parental control locks for theselected content. If the selected content is being accessed over anetwork or being provided by a network storage device, option 245 may beused to store the content on a local storage device.

In response to a user ordering selected content (e.g., by selecting anon-screen order option such as option 238 of FIG. 17 a, or by usingremote control 72 or any other suitable input device 118 to ordercontent, etc.), the interactive television application may deliver theordered video-on-demand content to the user equipment from a server suchas server 36 or server 56 or from a service provider such as serviceprovider 50. The communications paths and communications network 34 ofFIG. 1 may be used in delivering the requested content.

The ordered video-on-demand content may be displayed for the user on adisplay screen such as video-on-demand playback screen 246 of FIG. 18.As shown in the lower portion of screen 246, interactive options may bedisplayed in a toolbar 248 or other suitable format. The interactiveoptions 248 (or similar remote control buttons) may allow the user torewind the video-on-demand content to the beginning, rewind, play,fast-forward, pause, stop delivery of the video-on-demand content, orperform other video playback options. The arrangement of FIG. 18 ismerely illustrative. For example, the video-on-demand content may beplayed back in a reduced size window (of fixed or user-selectable size).

The interactive television application may allow the user to establishparental control settings. For example, the user may lock a particularprogram, a program rating, a channel, a type of content (e.g., violentor sexual content), or may establish a parental control setting thatblocks all television viewing during a particular period of time. A usermay be required to enter a personal identification number (PIN) tounlock blocked content.

With one illustrative arrangement, a parent (or other suitable user) mayselect a program to block by highlighting the program listing for thatprogram in a suitable program listings screen (e.g., a screen such asscreen 138 of FIG. 8). After highlighting the program to be blocked, theparent may press lock key 92 on remote control 72 (FIG. 4). The parentmay also access options for setting parental locks by selecting anon-screen parental control lock option provided by the interactivetelevision application (e.g., option 234 of FIG. 17 a, option 244 ofFIG. 17 b, etc.).

In response to a user selecting an on-screen option or remote controlkey to access parental control lock options, the interactive televisionapplication may display a display screen such as parental controlsdisplay screen 2300 of FIG. 23 a. Parental controls options may beaccessed from a main menu, a selected program, or any other suitableprogram guide screen. Users may set parental locks for a selectedprogram or a range of programming by selecting from various criteria.For example, users may select to block programs according to title 2305,TV rating 2310, movie rating 2315, channel 2320, or any other suitablecriteria. Block ratings options 2310 and 2315 may allow users to blockall programming with a given rating (e.g., the same rating as theselected program or a user-input rating or range of ratings). The usermay be provided with other options for applying parental lock settingsby selecting, for example, (YES/NO) time block option 2325. A user mayalso select to hide or show adult titles by selecting option 2330. Otherselectable options may also be provided in screen 2300.

If the user has selected “YES” for time block option 2325, a time blocksub-menu may be provided, for example, screen 2335 of FIG. 23 b. Theuser may use the on-screen options of screen 2335 to set a beginningtime (option 2340) and ending time (option 2345) for the parentalcontrol time period. The user may use option 2350 to make the parentalcontrol setting effective for all days of the week, certain groups ofdays (e.g., week days or weekend days), or a particular day or days. Theuser may press OK key 84 when finished. Other selectable options mayalso be provided as part of screen 2335.

The parental control screens 2300 and 2335 of FIGS. 23 a and 23 b aremerely illustrative. Any suitable on-screen options or other userinterface arrangement may be used allow a parent (or other user) toblock (parentally-control) programming airing during a particular periodof time, programming on a particular channel or channels, programmingwith a certain rating, individual instances of certain programs, etc.

The interactive television system 10 may be used to support videorecorder functions. The video recorder functions may be supported usinglocal arrangements (e.g., arrangements in which a personal videorecorder or other suitable equipment in the user's home is used torecord videos on a local hard drive or other storage device) andnetwork-based arrangements (e.g., arrangements in which networkequipment such as servers 36 and 56 or equipment at a service providersuch as service provider 50 is used to store video and data for theuser). Combinations of these arrangements may also be supported usingsystem 10.

In a local video recorder arrangement (sometimes called a personal videorecorder arrangement or local digital video recorder arrangement), videorecordings are stored locally on the user equipment. Information onwhich videos have been recorded may also be maintained locally. Programguide information (e.g., titles, rates, descriptions, categories, etc.)may also be maintained for the recorded videos. When a user desires toview a list of the recordings that the user has stored on the userequipment, the interactive television application may retrieve thisinformation from local storage and may display this information to theuser locally on user equipment 18. The user may then select a desiredrecording to play back.

In a network-based video recorder arrangement (sometimes called aclient-server video recorder arrangement), videos may be stored on thenetwork (e.g., at servers such as servers 36 and 56 or at a serviceprovider such as service provider 50). Information on which programshave been recorded for the user may be stored locally and on the network(e.g., at servers such as servers 36 and 56 or at a service providersuch as service provider 50).

Network-based recordings may be made in a number of ways. For example,some or all of the regularly-broadcast television programming providedby programming sources 12 may be automatically recorded or copies ofthis programming otherwise maintained on a suitable network storagedevice such as server 36, server 56, or equipment at a service providersuch as service provider 50. If the user chooses to “record” a program,no actual recording need be made, because a copy of the desired programalready exists on the system. With this type of arrangement, virtualrecordings take the place of real recordings.

The user may be given a “personal area” on the network. The personalarea may be accessed when the user enters an appropriate personalidentification number or by virtue of the user's connection to thenetwork through a known or trusted communications path (e.g., when theuser is connected through a dedicated cable path to a server at a cablesystem headend such as a server 56 at television distribution facility14 of FIG. 1).

The personal area may be used to maintain a list of the video contentthat the user has recorded. Whenever the user directs the network-basedvideo recorder portion of the interactive television system to make arecording, the system updates the user's personal area to make it appearas though an additional “real” copy of the requested recording has beenmade. The network-based video recorder implemented with this approachtherefore conserves storage space, while providing users with theillusion of access to a network-based video recorder dedicated to theirpersonal use.

Alternatively, there may be no personal area and each user may haveaccess to all previously recorded content to which they had rights whenoriginally broadcast.

As another example, some or all of the content for which a user requeststhat a recording be made may be recorded by creating actual copies(e.g., digital recordings) of the requested content. These actual copiesmay be stored on network equipment (e.g., servers such as servers 36 and56 or equipment at a service provider such as service provider 50).

Programs recorded onto a network server may be copied to a user's localstorage.

A combination of these approaches may be used if desired. For example,some content may be automatically retained by the system (e.g., copiesof popular programming). The user may make virtual recordings of thismaterial. The presence of the virtual recordings may be reflected in theuser's personal area. Other content may be stored in the form of actualrecordings at the direction of the user (e.g., less popular content).The presence of these recordings may also be reflected in the user'spersonal area.

Regardless of the way in which network-based recordings (virtual orreal) and local recordings are made, the interactive televisionapplication may be used to provide the user with interactive displayscreens that assist the user in making recordings, managing recordings(e.g., editing recordings, deleting recordings, renaming recordings,sending recordings to other users over the communications paths of FIG.1, etc.), playing back recordings, viewing information about recordedprograms, etc.

Once a program has been selected by a user for recording, the selectedprogram may be presented in an interactive list of programs scheduled tobe recorded. An illustrative scheduled recordings screen 250 that may bedisplayed for the user on user equipment 18 is shown in FIG. 19 a.Screen 250 may be displayed by the interactive television applicationwhen the user selects an option provided by another program guidescreen, such as program guide screen 120 of FIG. 7 or any other suitableoption. Screen 250 may include, for example, a list of programsscheduled to be recorded 251. A highlight region 252 may be used toselect a scheduled recording from the list. The user may positionhighlight region 252 on a desired scheduled recording and select thescheduled recording using an appropriate key of remote control 72.

Information about a scheduled recording selected by the user may bepresented in a screen such as screen 253 of FIG. 19 b. Screen 253 mayinclude scheduled recording information 254, which may show the date,time, and channel for which a program is to be recorded. Information 254may also indicate which device has been designated to record the programand whether a parental lock is set for the program scheduled to berecorded. The user may edit information 254 by selecting edit option 255using a highlight region. Other selectable options may be provided inscreen 253, for example cancel option 256 which the user may select tocancel the scheduled recording.

Once a program has been recorded, a program guide screen may bepresented to display recorded programs. An illustrative video recordingsscreen 260 that may be displayed for the user on user equipment 18 isshown in FIG. 20. Screen 260 may be displayed by the interactivetelevision application when the user selects an option provided byanother program guide screen, such as program guide screen 120 of FIG. 7or any other suitable option. The recordings 261 may be local recordingsthat are stored on the user's equipment 18 or may be real or virtualnetwork-based recordings (e.g., network-based content stored onequipment such as server 36 or server 56 or at service provider 50). Ina network-based video recorder environment with a personal area, screenssuch as screen 260 provide access to all or part of the user's personalarea. The user may navigate through the personal area using remotecontrol 72 or other suitable user interface 18.

Screen 260 may include a list of the user's recordings 261. Recordinglistings may include the time and channel the program was recorded orany other suitable information. The user may position highlight region262 to select a recording of interest (e.g., to view that recording, toview information about that program, to delete the program, etc.). Theuser may position highlight region 262 on a desired recording and selectthe recording using an appropriate key of remote control 72.

Information about a recording selected by the user may be presented in ascreen such as screen 264 as illustrated in FIG. 20 b. Screen 264 mayinclude recording information 265, which may show the date, time, andchannel the program was recorded. Information 265 may also show whethera parental lock is set for the recording and what device has beendesignated to store the recording. The user may play the recording byselecting option 266. The user may play the selected recording from thebeginning by selecting option 267. Option 268 may be selected to deletethe recording from the list of recordings. Option 269 may be used to seta parental lock for the selected recording. If the selected recording isbeing stored on a network video storage device, the user may selectoption 259 to transfer the recording to a local storage device.On-screen options may be selected using a highlight region and a remotecontrol, or by any other suitable method.

When a given recording is selected for playback, for example byselecting play option 266, a display screen such as display screen 269of FIG. 21 may be presented. Display screen 269 may include the video270 of the selected program that is being played back to the user andoptions 271 for controlling the video. Options 271 may, for example,include options that allow the user to rewind the video to thebeginning, to rewind or reverse the video, to play the video, tofast-forward the video, to pause the video, or to stop the video.Control of these functions and other interactive television applicationfunctions may be supported using on-screen options, dedicated ormulti-purpose keys on remote control 72 or other user devices, or othersuitable arrangements involving user interface 118. When on-screenoptions are used, the options may be displayed in the form of one ormore overlays on top of video 270 or video 270 may be provided in areduced-size window and the options displayed outside of this window.

With the arrangement of FIGS. 20 and 21, the user can browse the user'srecordings and can play back (and control the playback) of theserecordings. Recordings that are stored locally on user equipment 18 maybe played back by retrieving these recordings from the local hard driveor other storage on which the recordings are maintained. Recordings thatare stored on the network may be played back from the network equipmenton which the recording content is stored. User equipment 18 may receivesuch content in the form of a real-time video stream or a file downloadand the interactive television application may play back the receivedcontent using a display screen arrangement of the type shown in FIG. 21.

The user may record programming by indicating interest in a program forrecording by highlighting a program of interest on a suitable displayscreen provided by the interactive television application and pressing arecord key, by selecting a program for recording from a flip or browsedisplay, by tuning to a desired program and selecting an appropriaterecord button, by selecting a record option from an information screen,etc. For example, the user may highlight a program in a program listingsscreen such as screen 138 of FIG. 8, or may display a program listing ofinterest on a flip display such as flip display 153 of FIG. 9 or on abrowse display such as browse display 160 of FIG. 10. When the userpresses a suitable remote control key such as record key 86 of FIG. 4,the interactive television application may record the desired program.

The interactive television application may automatically record theprogram that the user selected or may provide one or more additionalconfirmation and information screens after the user presses the recordkey 86. As an example, the interactive television application maydisplay a screen such as record set-up screen 272 of FIG. 22. As shownin FIG. 22, screen 272 may include title and ratings information inregion 273 and a program description 274. The user may be provided withinformation on the scheduled broadcast time for the selected program. Ifthe user desires to record the program, the user may position highlightregion 275 on top of YES option 276 and may press OK key 84. If the userdoes not wish to record the program, the user may position highlight 275on top of NO option 277 and may press the OK key 84. If desired, otheroptions such as series recording options, recording quality options, andbuffer time options may be provided.

When the user directs the interactive television application to record agiven program, the interactive television application will record theprogram using the local capabilities of user equipment 18 or using thenetwork-based video recorder capabilities of the system 10, depending onthe equipment of the user, the capabilities of system 10, and system anduser settings.

After the program has been recorded, the user may use the interactivetelevision application to view information on the user's recordings(e.g., using a display screen arrangement of the type shown in FIG. 20).These techniques for supporting recording functionality in theinteractive television application are merely illustrative. Any suitablearrangement for recording (as real recordings or as virtual recordingsand locally or on network equipment) may be used if desired.

Because the network-based or local personal video recording capabilitiesof system 10 may be used to time-shift broadcast programming, the usermay be provided with an opportunity to defer or reschedule the viewingof a given program as desired. For example, the interactive televisionapplication (e.g., a program guide application) may provide on-screenoptions that the user may select to choose a suitable deferred time atwhich to receive a reminder for the program.

If the user chooses not to defer the reminder, the interactivetelevision application may provide a reminder for the user just beforethe scheduled broadcast time of the program. The user may view theprogram at this time as it is broadcast. If the user chooses to deferthe reminder, the interactive television application may provide thereminder at a later time (e.g., two hours after the original broadcasttime when no broadcast is scheduled). The user may view a recording ofthe program at this time by playing back the recording from thenetwork-based or local personal video recorder.

Programs may be recorded by using network-based or local personal videorecording systems. Local video recording arrangements may include apersonal video recorder or other suitable equipment in the user's home,and such equipment may store videos on a local hard drive or othersuitable storage device, such as recording devices 62 or 66 (FIGS. 2 and3, respectively).

Programs may also be recorded by a network-based system. Network-basedarrangements for storing video and data for the user may includeequipment such as servers 36 and 56 or equipment at a service providersuch as service provider 50. Information about these stored programs maybe stored locally and on the network.

Network-based recording of programs may be performed automatically orotherwise maintained by the system. Accordingly, when a user chooses to“record” a specific program, a “virtual” recording (rather than an“actual” or “real” recording) may be made that refers to the existingrecording of the desired program on the system, thereby conservingstorage space on the network. The network may also include personalareas for each user, in which a list of the user's recordings may bemaintained. This list of recordings may include both virtual recordingsand actual (or real) recordings. Actual recordings may also be stored inthe personal area, either by directly recording the desired program orby creating a copy of the network-based recording in the user's personalarea. Access to the user's personal area may be controlled by entry ofthe user's personal identification number, or by a trusted or knowncommunications path associated with the user, as described above.

Combinations of these arrangements may also be used. For example, auser's list of recordings may include virtual recordings (that refer tonetwork-based recordings), actual recordings that are stored in theuser's personal area on the network, and actual recordings that arestored on a local personal video recorder equipment. A user'snetwork-based or locally-stored actual recordings may result from directrecording of the programs. Alternatively, or in addition, actualrecordings in the user's personal area or local personal recordingdevice may result from creating copies of the network-based recordingsand storing them in the user's network-based personal area or localpersonal video recorder.

Accordingly, it is understood that the features described herein may beused with both network-based and locally-stored recordings of programs,using network-based or local personal video recorders, as well as actualand virtual recordings of programs. Video recorders may include eitheror both network-based video recorders and local personal videorecorders. Reminders for programs as described below may be used withprograms stored using any other suitable storage arrangements as well.

Any suitable arrangement may be used to allow the user to select adesired time for receiving a program reminder for a program. Oneillustrative display screen arrangement that may be used is shown inFIG. 24. Display screen 276 of FIG. 24 may be displayed by theinteractive television application when the user selects a desiredprogram from a grid or other list of scheduled programs (e.g., usinghighlight region 144 of list 138 of FIG. 8). (When the selected programis not available at any other time than the originally-scheduledbroadcast time—e.g., because video recording of the program isprohibited or otherwise not available—the interactive televisionapplication may display a set reminder screen reminder such as theset-reminder screen of FIG. 12 and may display reminders of the typeshown in FIG. 13.) As shown in FIG. 24, screen 276 may include aninformation region 278 that identifies the selected program (Seinfeld inthis example). Information region 278 may also contain information onthe originally-scheduled broadcast or air time for the program (e.g.,8:00 PM tonight) and information on the longer-term availability of theprogram through the network-based video recorder (e.g., until 8:00 PMFriday).

In some situations, certain programs may be available for long periodsof time or even indefinitely. On other situations, programs will bedeleted from the system (or at least the publicly available portion ofthe system) to save on storage space or to follow the practices of thesystem operator. Programs that will only be available for a fixed periodof time may be referred to as having expiration dates. In the example ofFIG. 24, the network-based recording (copy) of Seinfeld will beavailable only until 8:00 PM on Friday, after which it will expire.

Options 280 may be provided to allow the user to select a desiredviewing/reminder time for Seinfeld. The user may select a desiredviewing time by using remote control cursor keys 82 to position ahighlight region on a desired option and by pressing the OK key 84 tomark that option.

The user may select option 282 to set a reminder for Seinfeld at itsoriginal scheduled broadcast time (8:00 PM Thursday). The user mayselect an option such as option 284 when it is desired to set a reminderfor a time other than the originally scheduled broadcast time. Ifdesired, deferred viewing may be provided as a premium (fee-based)service. With this type of arrangement, a fee may be imposed inassociation with the user's selection of a time-shifted reminder (e.g.,$0.50), as shown in FIG. 24.

If the user selects option 282, the interactive television applicationmay display a reminder for the user on the user's equipment 18 at 8:00PM (or a short time before 8:00 PM) on Thursday. If the user selectsoption 284, the interactive television application may display areminder for the user on the user's equipment 18 at 9:00 PM (or a shorttime before 9:00 PM) on Thursday. (The user may select any of the otheroptions 280 to set a reminder for another desired time.)

The reminder may be provided in the form of an overlay over the currenttelevision channel, may be displayed using a full-screen format, may bedisplayed in the form of an icon, or may be provided using any othersuitable arrangement. An illustrative reminder is shown in FIG. 27. Inthe example of FIG. 27, the reminder is provided in the form of anoverlay 302 that is displayed in a display screen 303 on top of videofor the current channel.

The reminder may include a number of selectable options 304 that theuser may select by proper positioning of highlight region 306. Options304 may include a watch now option 308 that the user may select to watchthe desired program immediately. Option 310 may be used to deferviewing. Option 312 may be selected when the user desires to cancel thereminder and hide the reminder display 302. Option 314 may be selectedif the user wants to archive a copy of the program to the user'spersonal area on the network-based video-recorder or the local personalvideo recorder.

If a reminder is being provided at the scheduled broadcast time for theselected program (e.g., at 8:00 PM on Thursday for the present example),selection of the watch now option 308 directs the interactive televisionapplication to tune the user's equipment to the appropriate channel toview the scheduled airing of the desired program. If a reminder is beingprovided at a time later than the scheduled broadcast time, the programwill have been recorded using the network-based or local personal videorecorder. Accordingly, selection of watch now option 306 will direct thenetwork-based video recorder to play back the program on the userequipment (e.g., using a playback arrangement of the type shown in FIG.21 or any other suitable video recorder arrangement).

Different content management arrangements may be used to store andmaintain copies of broadcast content on system 10. In one illustrativearrangement, the network equipment (e.g., server 56, server 36, orequipment at service provider 50) may be used to “record” or maintaincopies of all or substantially all broadcast programming that isprovided to the users. For example, all or substantially all incomingbroadcast programming may be automatically recorded and maintained on aserver 56 at a cable system headend. In another illustrativearrangement, only some of the broadcast content may be storedautomatically. For example, popular situation comedies may be recordedand unpopular news programs may not be recorded. In yet anotherillustrative arrangement, programs are recorded when requested by auser. For example, if a user requests that a particular movie berecorded, the network-based video recorder will store a copy of thatmovie for the user. These approaches may be combined if desired. Inanother arrangement, the foregoing storage and maintenance arrangementsmay use local storage equipment, in addition to network-based storagearrangements. Moreover, in both arrangements, copies of programs andother content may be stored in the form of either real copies (e.g.,individual files on the servers, personal video recorders, or otherlocal or network equipment) or may be stored in the form of virtualcopies (e.g., suitable database records or other information that isassociated with one or more actual copies).

If all or some of the broadcast programs being aired are beingautomatically recorded by the network-based or local personal videorecorder, it may be desirable to present the user with an option such asarchive option 286 on reminder set-up screen 276 of FIG. 24. The usercan use remote control keys to toggle option 286 between an option suchas “archive Seinfeld to my personal area if I miss it” and “do notrecord a copy.” If the archive option has been selected, the interactivetelevision application may monitor the user's activities to determinewhether the user is watching Seinfeld at the time for which the reminderwas set. If the user does not interact with user equipment 18 or theinteractive television application during the time period at which theuser was to watch Seinfeld, the interactive television application mayuse the video-recorder capabilities of system 10 to archive a copy ofSeinfeld in the user's personal area on the network or local equipment.For example, an additional program listing (“Seinfeld”) may be added tothe user's recorded programs list of FIG. 20 a or to the user's archive(accessed using a screen such as the screen of FIG. 32).

An archive-if-missed option may be provided on any suitable interactivetelevision application display screen. Moreover, this functionality maybe incorporated into the interactive television application as a defaultcapability (which may or may not be disengaged by the user).

In situations in which a copy of a desired program is not scheduled tobe automatically retained by the system, the user may be presented witha “record-if-missed” option in place of archive-if-missed option 286. Ifthis option is selected (or if an equivalent function is implemented asa default) and the interactive television application determines thatthe user has failed to watch the selected program, the program can berecorded into the user's personal area (as either a real copy or avirtual copy) using the network-based or local personal video recordercapabilities of system 10.

To confirm the selection of a desired option 280 on screen 276 (and toconfirm the user's choice of whether to automatically archive a copy ofthe program into the user's personal area using option 286), the usermay position highlight region 288 on top of “yes” option 290 and maypress OK. If the user chooses not to set a reminder (either at theoriginal broadcast time or a time-shifted time), the user may select“no” option 292.

Using a screen of the type shown in FIG. 24, the user may be presentedwith the scheduled broadcast time, one or more deferred times relativeto the scheduled broadcast time, and another option (“other”) thatallows the user to access additional screens to select from additionaldeferred time options or to enter a specific time (e.g., using numerickeys on the remote control). This is merely one illustrative arrangementfor providing the user with the ability to set a desired reminder time.

Another possible arrangement is shown in FIG. 25. With the illustrativereminder time selection screen 294 of FIG. 25, the user may positionslider 296 (e.g., using arrow keys on the remote control) at anappropriate horizontal position that represents a desired reminder time.If the user positions slider 296 at the leftmost position (i.e., thelocation that indicates a desired reminder time of 8:00 PM on Thursday),the interactive television application may display a reminder such asreminder 302 of FIG. 27 at 8:00 PM on Thursday. If the user positionsslider 296 at the position shown in FIG. 25 and selects option 290, areminder may be provided at 11:00 PM on Thursday.

Another suitable arrangement for setting reminders is shown in FIG. 26.Reminder set-up screen 298 of FIG. 26 may include a reminder timeselection region 300 that the user may use to select a desired time(e.g., using cursor keys 82 or numeric keys that may appear in 76). Theprice associated with viewing the program at each time may be displayedin region 300 if desired. For example, “free” may be displayed when thereminder is set for the originally-scheduled broadcast time. When areminder time is selected that is later than the scheduled broadcasttime a fee (e.g., $0.50) may be displayed in region 300. If desired, ahigher price may be charged for setting a reminder at a time later thanthe normal expiration time for the program, which would result inextending the expiration time or archiving a copy in the user's personalarea or local storage. The process of setting the reminder at thedesired time may be confirmed by selecting option 290.

In system environments in which copies of all or substantially allprograms are automatically maintained on the network equipment, anarchive-if-missed option of the type shown in FIG. 24 may be included onscreens of the type shown in FIGS. 25 and 26. Price information (e.g.,premium charges associated with time-shifting operations or archiving)may be provided on screens of the type shown in FIG. 25.

In system environments in which copies of some (but not all) programsare automatically maintained, an “archive-if-missed” option may beprovide when the desired program is one that is scheduled for automaticrecording. A “record-if-missed” option may be provided when a program isavailable for network-based video recorder (or local video recorder)recording. If desired, the on-screen options that are presented to theuser need not distinguish between archiving operations (in which usersare provided with real or virtual “archive” copies) and recordingoperations (in which otherwise unsaved material is affirmatively copiedand saved as a real or virtual recording). Such operations may be madeavailable to the user through on-screen options that are described asbeing options for “recording,” “archiving,” “copying,” “saving,”“storing,” etc.

Moreover, screens 276 (FIG. 24), 294 (FIG. 25), and 298 (FIG. 26) aremerely illustrative. Any suitable user interface arrangement may be usedto allow a user to interact with the interactive television applicationwhen setting time-shifted reminders and associated recording andarchiving options.

Regardless of the type of reminder setting screen that is used toprovide the user with choices regarding when to view a program and set acorresponding reminder, at the time for which the reminder was set, theinteractive television application may display or otherwise present theuser with a suitable reminder. In the example of FIG. 27, the reminderis provided in the form of an overlay on top of video for the currenttelevision channel. If the user does not wish to watch the programcorresponding to the reminder, the user may further defer the viewing ofthe program and may set a correspondingly delayed reminder by selectingwatch later option 310.

If watch later option 310 is selected, the interactive televisionapplication may display on-screen options of the type shown in FIG. 28.In the illustrative arrangement of FIG. 28, a menu 316 of deferredreminder time options 320 may be displayed for the user. Menu 316 may bedisplayed using any suitable arrangement. In the example of FIG. 28,menu 316 is displayed as an overlay on top of video for the currentchannel 318.

The user may choose to defer the reminder by positioning highlightregion 322 on top of a desired option 320. For example, the user mayselect option 324 to defer the reminder for five minutes or may selectoption 326 to defer the reminder for thirty minutes. Other options 320may be used to defer the reminder by other amounts. When the newreminder time arrives, the user may be presented with a reminder of thetype shown in FIG. 27.

In system environments in which all broadcast programs are automaticallystored on the network video recorder, menus such as menu 316 of FIG. 28may be provided with an archive-if-missed option such as option 328. Ifthe interactive television application determines that a user has failedto view the program, the interactive television application may createan archived copy of the missed program in the user's personal area onthe network or on the local personal video recorder equipment.

In system environments in which only some programs are automaticallyretained by the network-based video recorder equipment of the system,the user may be presented with an option on menus such as menu 316 thatallows the user to create an archived copy of the program in the user'spersonal area (if the program is one that is being automaticallyretained by the system) or allows the user to direct the network-basedvideo recorder to record a copy of the program on the user's localequipment (if the program is one that was not being automaticallyretained but is available for recording).

In system environments in which programs are only recorded on thenetwork-based or local personal video recorder equipment of the systemas a result of a user request, the interactive television applicationmay present the user with an option on menus such as menu 316 thatallows the user to request that a recording be made in the event thatthe program is missed. When the interactive television applicationdetermines that the program has been missed, the program may be recordedinto the user's personal area on the network or local personal videorecorder as a real copy or a virtual copy.

Illustrative steps involved in implementing the deferred-remindersfeature of the network-based video recorder in different systemenvironments are shown in FIGS. 29, 30, and 31. The flow chart of FIG.29 shows steps used in a system environment in which copies of all orsubstantially all scheduled programming are automatically retained bythe network-based video recorder. The flow chart of FIG. 30 shows stepsused in a system environment in which some of the scheduled broadcastprogramming is automatically retained and some of this programming isnot retained (programs can also be recorded at a user's request). Theflow chart of FIG. 31 shows steps used in a system environment in whichprograms are recorded at the request of the user (programming can alsobe retained automatically). The flow charts shown in FIGS. 29, 30, and31 may also describe system environments in which recording, retention,and storage of broadcast programming may occur on local equipment, suchas a local personal video recorder.

In one suitable arrangement, copies of all broadcast programs areautomatically retained on the system. With this type of arrangement,users can use the network-based or local personal video recordercapabilities of system 10 to play back copies of programs of interest.The user may be provided with a personal area on the network. Copies ofprograms that the user is interested in may be stored (as virtual copiesor as separate real copies) in the user's personal area or on the localequipment. The process of making a system copy of a program appear inthe user's personal set of listings may be referred to as archiving.

Due to storage restrictions, it may not be desirable to maintain copiesof all broadcast programs in the network-based or local personal videorecorder for an indefinite period. Accordingly, these programs may beerased or moved to a more remote storage location after an appropriatetime has elapsed from their initial broadcast. To avoid losing readyaccess to a desired program, the user may wish to archive the program inthat user's personal area or local PVR. The user may be charged aone-time or periodic fee for this service by the system. Archivedvirtual or real copies can be maintained on the network or local PVR forready access by the user. Copies that are not archived may be impossibleor at least more difficult to access.

Steps involved in providing a user with the ability to use network-basedor local personal video recorder functions to reschedule reminders andarchive missed programs are shown in the flow chart of FIG. 29. Inconjunction with the steps shown in FIG. 29, the system 10 iscontinually retaining copies of all television programs being providedto the users (e.g., by maintaining digital copies on server 56 of all ofthe programs distributed to the users via television distributionfacility 14).

At step 330, the user may be provided with an opportunity to select aprogram for which to set a reminder. For example, the interactivetelevision application (e.g., the program guide) may display a screencontaining program listings such as the screen of FIG. 8. The user mayselect a desired program for which to set a reminder from this screen.

After the user has selected a desired program, the interactivetelevision application may provide the user with an opportunity toselect a desired reminder and viewing time at step 332. An on-screendisplay arrangement of the types shown in FIGS. 24, 25, and 26 may beused if desired. The user may also be provided with an opportunity tointeract with an archive-if-missed option such as option 286 of FIG. 24at step 332. Archiving operations may also be performed by default. Ifthe user directs the system to archive missed programs, the programswill not only be automatically retained by the system as part of thesystem's automatic retention of all broadcast programming, but will alsobe archived to the user's personal area or local PVR (e.g., for a lengthof time determined by the user's payment of appropriate fees, etc.).

In response to step 332, the user may select a time for the reminderthat coincides with the originally-scheduled broadcast time for thedesired program or may select a deferred reminder time. The selection ofthe deferred reminder time is made possible by the network-based orlocal personal video recorder functions of system 10. When theuser-selected time arrives, a reminder may be displayed for the user atstep 334.

The reminder that is displayed by the interactive television applicationat step 334 may be, for example, a reminder of the type shown in FIG. 27or any other suitable reminder. The reminder may include options such asthe options 304 of FIG. 27 that allow the user to watch the desiredprogram immediately, to defer viewing (and reschedule the reminder), tocancel the reminder, and to archive the program immediately to theuser's personal area or local PVR (e.g., if the user does not anticipatewatching the program in the near future).

If the user chooses to-watch the program immediately, the interactivetelevision application may display the program for the user on theuser's equipment 18 at step 336. If the program is currently beingbroadcast (e.g., because the reminder was set for theoriginally-scheduled broadcast time), the interactive televisionapplication may tune the user's equipment to the appropriate televisionchannel to receive that program. The received program may be displayedon the user's monitor (e.g., the user's television screen). If theprogram is not currently being broadcast (e.g., because the user isrelying on the network-based video recorder functions of the system toretrieve a saved version of the program), the program may be played backfor the user using the network-based video recorder. A playbackarrangement of the type shown in FIG. 21 or any other suitablearrangement may be used to play back the desired program for the userfrom the network-based or local personal video recorder.

If, in response to step 334, the user chose to reschedule the reminder(e.g., the user selected a “watch later” option to change the reminderto a later time because the user was not yet ready to view the program),the user may, at step 338, be provided with an opportunity to interactwith on-screen reminder-time rescheduling options of the type shown inFIG. 28. As shown in FIG. 28, the user may also be presented with anon-screen option 328 to schedule an automatic network-based or localarchiving operation in the event that the user misses the rescheduledprogram broadcast.

After rescheduling the reminder at step 338, control loops back to step334. When the new reminder time arrives, the system may thereforedisplay a new reminder for the user at step 334.

If an original or rescheduled reminder time arrives and the user iswatching television or otherwise using user equipment 18, the user maychoose to watch the program that is the subject of the reminder at step336 or may cancel the reminder (step 340). The user may also select anoption such as archive to personal area or local PVR option 314 of FIG.27 to direct the interactive television application to archive a copy ofthe program to the user's personal area or local PVR at step 342. A copyof the program may also be archived to the user's personal area or localPVR at step 342 if the user misses a program that was selected forarchiving (e.g., using an option such as option 286 of FIG. 24). Noreminder need actually be displayed at step 334 if the user's display isnot active at the reminder time (e.g., in the situation in which theuser is missing the program).

Alternatively, or in addition to the above, if an original orrescheduled reminder time arrives and the user does not respond to orotherwise acknowledge the displayed reminder for some defined period oftime, the interactive television application may be configured to assumethat the user will miss or has missed the program. Similarly, if theuser is engaged in an “uninterruptible” activity (e.g., the user isengaged in or entering a purchase transaction) when an original orrescheduled reminder time arrives, the application may also assume thatthe user will miss or has missed the program. In either situation, theapplication may subsequently perform an action appropriate for when theuser has missed the program (e.g., archiving the program if the userpreviously set an archive-if-missed option).

When the user selects an archive option such as archive option 314 ofFIG. 27 or when the user previously set an archive-if-missed option andthe user fails to watch the program in time, the system may create anarchive copy of the program at step 342. The archive copy may be made bycreating an actual extra copy of the program for the user or by updatingan appropriate database or otherwise storing information that indicatesthat the user has archived a copy of the program.

Regardless of whether a real archive copy or a virtual archive copy ofthe program is created for the user, the user's personal area on thenetwork or the local PVR may be updated accordingly. For example, theuser's lists of recordings that are provided by the interactivetelevision application such as the list of FIG. 20 a may be updated toreflect the availability of the archived copy of the program. This typeof on-screen listing arrangement may be used to allow the user torequest that a given program recording (archive copy) be played back tothe user (step 344).

Another suitable arrangement for providing the user with access toarchived programs is shown in FIG. 32. With the arrangement of FIG. 32,the interactive television application may display a screen 390 ofarchive category options 392. The user may select most recent option 394to access listings for recently archived programs. Options such asoptions 396, 398, and 400 may be used to access lists of archivedprograms according to their genre. Genre information for recordedprograms may be obtained from data source 30 and stored in a programlistings database for use by the interactive television application. Bychannel option 402 may be used to display a list of archived programsordered by their associated television channels.

Preference matches option 404 may be selected when the use desires toview programs that match the user's preferences. The user's preferencesmay be stored in a preference profile. Information on the user'spreferences may be gathered by the interactive television application bymonitoring the user's interactions with the interactive televisionapplication, by manual input (e.g., by the user), by surveys (on-line,telephone, through the user equipment, etc.), or using any othersuitable approach.

Edit/create categories option 406 may be used to provide access toediting functions. The user may use option 406 to create new options392, to delete undesired options 392, and to otherwise customize theuser interface with archived content.

System housekeeping operations (step 346 of FIG. 29) may be performed atany suitable time. Such operations may, for example, involve deletingcertain programs while retaining programs that users have paid tomaintain in their personal areas. The interactive television applicationmay be used to provide the user with opportunities to extend storage(e.g., upon payment of an additional fee) or to otherwise assist duringhousekeeping operations.

The flow chart of FIG. 30 shows steps involved in operating theinteractive television application in a system environment in which someof the scheduled broadcast programming is automatically retained andsome of this programming is not retained. With this type of arrangement,users can use the network-based or local personal video recordercapabilities of system 10 to play back copies of at least some programsof interest. Other programs of interest may be watched in real time asbroadcast programs. The user may be provided with a personal area on thenetwork. Copies of programs that are available for archiving (i.e.,those programs for which copies are automatically maintained) may bestored (as virtual copies or as separate real copies) in the user'spersonal area or in the local PVR.

Programs that are not stored automatically by the system may be storedupon user request. Periodic housekeeping operations may be used todelete or otherwise remove certain programs from the primary storageareas of the network-based or local personal video recorder. To avoidlosing ready access to a desired program, the user may wish to archivethe program in that user's personal area or local PVR. The user may becharged a one-time or periodic fee for this service by the system.Archived virtual or real copies can be maintained on the network orlocal PVR for ready access by the user. Copies that are not archived maybe impossible or at least more difficult to access. In conjunction withthe steps shown in FIG. 30, the system 10 may continually retain copiesof some of the television programs being provided to the users (e.g., bymaintaining digital copies on server 56 of these programs as they aredistributed to the users via television distribution facility 14).

At step 348, the user may be provided with an opportunity to select aprogram for which to set a reminder. For example, the interactivetelevision application (e.g., the program guide) may display a screencontaining program listings such as the screen of FIG. 8. The user mayselect a desired program for which to set a reminder from this screen.

At step 350, the interactive television application may determinewhether the selected program is among those that are to be automaticallyretained using the network-based or local personal video recorder. Ifthe selected program is not among those for which a copy is to beautomatically retained, the user may be provided with an opportunity toset the reminder at step 352. For example, the user may be provided witha screen such as the set reminders screen of FIG. 12. The user may usethis screen to set a reminder for the program at the regularly scheduledbroadcast time for that program. Even if the selected program is notscheduled for automatic recording, the user may be able to select adelayed reminder option. In making such a selection, the interactivetelevision application may be record the selected program for which thedelayed reminder was set by using the network-based or local personalvideo recorder capabilities of the system.

When the time for the program arrives, the interactive televisionapplication may display the reminder for the user at step 354. Forexample, the interactive television application may display a remindersuch as the reminder of FIG. 13. If desired, the set reminder screenprovided at step 352 may include an option that the user may select todirect the network-based or local personal video recorder to record theprogram into the user's personal area or local PVR (as a real or virtualcopy) in the event that the user does not watch the program.

The reminder screens such as the reminder list display of FIG. 13 thatare displayed by the interactive television application may, if desired,include an option that directs the interactive television application torecord the program associated with the reminder. The program may berecorded locally when network-based recording is not available. At step354, the user may be provided with a reminder that allows deferredviewing (using the network-based or local personal video recorderfunctions of the system). User-initiated recording of missed or deferredprograms that are not automatically retained is described further inconnection with FIG. 31.

If it is determined at step 350 that the program selected by the user isone for which a copy of the program is going to be automaticallyretained, the user may be provided with an opportunity to select adesired reminder time for the program at step 356. Because a copy of theprogram is being retained past the originally-scheduled broadcast time,it is not necessary to restrict the reminder time to the time originallyscheduled for broadcasting the program. Rather, an arrangement such asthe on-screen menu arrangements of FIGS. 24, 25, and 26 may be used toselect a reminder time that is at the scheduled broadcast time or thatis later than the scheduled broadcast time (i.e., at a time for which nobroadcast of the program is scheduled).

The user may also be provided with an opportunity to interact with anarchive-if-missed option such as option 286 of FIG. 24 at step 356.Archiving operations may also be performed by default. If the userdirects the system to archive missed programs, the programs will notonly be automatically retained by the system as part of the system'sautomatic retention of certain broadcast programming, but will also bearchived to the user's personal area or local PVR (e.g., for a length oftime determined by the user's payment of appropriate fees, etc.).

Using the on-screen options provided during step 356, the user mayselect a time for the reminder that coincides with theoriginally-scheduled broadcast time for the desired program or mayselect a deferred reminder time. When the user-selected time arrives, areminder may be displayed for the user at step 358.

The reminder that is displayed by the interactive television applicationat step 358 may be, for example, a reminder of the type shown in FIG. 27or any other suitable reminder. The reminder may include options such asthe options 304 of FIG. 27 that allow the user to watch the desiredprogram immediately, to defer viewing (and reschedule the reminder), tocancel the reminder, and to archive the program immediately to theuser's personal area or local PVR (e.g., if the user does not anticipatewatching the program in the near future).

If the user chooses to watch the program immediately, the interactivetelevision application may display the program for the user on theuser's equipment 18 at step 360. If the program is currently beingbroadcast (e.g., because the reminder was set for theoriginally-scheduled broadcast time), the interactive televisionapplication may tune the user's equipment to the appropriate televisionchannel to receive that program at step 360. The received program may bedisplayed on the user's monitor (e.g., the user's television screen). Ifthe program is not currently being broadcast (e.g., because the user isrelying on the network-based or local personal video recorder functionsof the system to retrieve a saved version of the program), the programmay be played back for the user using the network-based or localpersonal video recorder at step 360. A playback arrangement of the typeshown in FIG. 21 or any other suitable arrangement may be used to playback the desired program for the user from the network-based or localpersonal video recorder.

If, in response to step 358, the user chose to reschedule the reminder(e.g., the user selected a “watch later” option to change the reminderto a later time because the user was not yet ready to view the program),the user may, at step 362, be provided with an opportunity to interactwith on-screen reminder-time rescheduling options of the type shown inFIG. 28. As shown in FIG. 28, the user may also be presented with anon-screen option to schedule an automatic archiving operation in theevent that the user misses the rescheduled program broadcast.

After rescheduling the reminder at step 362, control loops back to step358. When the new reminder time arrives, the system may thereforedisplay a new reminder for the user at step 358.

If an original or rescheduled reminder time arrives and the user iswatching television or otherwise using user equipment 18, the user maychoose to watch the program that is the subject of the reminder, therebydirecting the interactive television application to tune to theappropriate channel or play back the program at step 360. The user mayselect an option to cancel the reminder, thereby directing theinteractive television application to cancel the reminder at step 364.The user may also select an option such as archive-to-personal-areaoption 314 of FIG. 27 to direct the interactive television applicationto archive a copy of the program to the user's personal area at step366. Alternatively, or in addition, the absence of a response orselection from the user after the reminder has been displayed for someperiod of time may also direct the interactive television application toarchive a copy of the program to the user's personal area at step 366. Acopy of the program may also be archived to the user's personal area orlocal PVR at step 366 if the user misses a program that was selected forarchiving (e.g., using an option such as option 286 of FIG. 24). Noreminder need actually be displayed at step 358 if the user's display isnot active at the reminder time (e.g., in the situation in which theuser is missing the program).

When the user selects an archive option such as archive option 314 ofFIG. 27 or when the user previously set an archive-if-missed option andthe user fails to watch the program in time, the system may create anarchive copy of the program at step 366. The archive copy may be made bycreating an actual extra copy of the program for the user or by updatingan appropriate database or otherwise storing information that indicatesthat the user has archived a copy of the program. The archive copy maybe stored in the user's personal area on the network or on the localPVR.

Regardless of whether a real archive copy or a virtual archive copy ofthe program is created for the user, the user's personal area on thenetwork or local PVR may be updated accordingly. For example, the user'slists of recordings that are provided by the interactive televisionapplication such as the list of FIG. 20 a may be updated to reflect theavailability of the archived copy of the program. This type of on-screenlisting arrangement or any other suitable arrangement such as thearrangement described in connection with FIG. 32 may be used to allowthe user to request that a given program recording (archive copy) beplayed back to the user (step 368).

System housekeeping operations (step 370) may be performed at anysuitable time. Such operations may, for example, involve deletingcertain programs while retaining programs that users have paid tomaintain in their personal areas or local PVR. The interactivetelevision application may be used to provide the user withopportunities to extend storage (e.g., upon payment of an additionalfee) or to otherwise assist during housekeeping operations.

The flow chart of FIG. 31 shows steps involved in operating theinteractive television application in a system environment in whichscheduled broadcast programming is not automatically retained, but isavailable for recording using the network-based or local personal videorecorder capabilities of the system. With this type of arrangement,users can use the network-based or local personal video recordercapabilities of system 10 to record and play back programs of interest,but copies of programs are generally not stored unless requested by atleast one (or other suitable number) of the users (e.g., at least one orsome of the users associated with a given television distributionfacility 14). Other programs of interest may be watched in real time asbroadcast programs. The user may be provided with a personal area on thenetwork or on the local PVR. Recordings of programs that are made at therequest of the user may be stored (as virtual copies or as separate realcopies) in the user's personal area or local PVR.

Periodic housekeeping operations may be used to delete or otherwiseremove certain programs from the network, the user's personal area, orthe local PVR.

At step 372 of FIG. 31, the user may be provided with an opportunity toselect a program for which to set a reminder. For example, theinteractive television application (e.g., the program guide) may displaya screen containing program listings such as the screen of FIG. 8. Theuser may select a desired program for which to set a reminder from thisscreen (e.g., by positioning a highlight region on a desired program andpressing a remote control OK key).

The user may be provided with an opportunity to select a desiredreminder time for the program at step 374. Because the program may berecorded using the network-based or local personal video recordercapabilities of system 10, it is not necessary to restrict the remindertime to the time originally scheduled for broadcasting the program.Rather, an arrangement such as the on-screen menu arrangements of FIGS.24, 25, and 26 may be used to select a reminder time that is at thescheduled broadcast time or that is later than the scheduled broadcasttime (i.e., at a time at which the program is not being broadcast).

During step 374, the user may also be provided with an opportunity tointeract with a record-if-missed option. This type of option may bedisplayed using the same type of arrangement used for option 286 of FIG.24. Missed programs may also be recorded by default.

If the user sets up a reminder time that is later than the scheduledbroadcast time for the selected program, the program may be recorded forlater playback at step 376 using the network-based or local personalvideo recorder capabilities of system 10. At step 378, at the remindertime set by the user, the interactive television application may displaya reminder for the user. The reminder may, for example, be a reminder ofthe type shown in FIG. 27. Options such as options 304 may be includedin the reminder that allow the user to watch the program immediately, towatch later (and therefore reschedule the reminder), to cancel or ignorethe reminder, and to record a copy of the program (e.g., by recording acopy of the program in the user's personal area of the network or localPVR).

If the user chooses to watch the program immediately, the interactivetelevision application may display the program for the user on theuser's equipment 18 at step 380. If the program is currently beingbroadcast (e.g., because the reminder was set for theoriginally-scheduled broadcast time), the interactive televisionapplication may tune the user's equipment to the appropriate televisionchannel to receive that program at step 380. The received program may bedisplayed on the user's monitor (e.g., the user's television screen). Ifthe program is not currently being broadcast (e.g., because the user isrelying on the network-based or local personal video recorder functionsof the system to retrieve the version of the program that was recordedat step 376), the program may be played back for the user using thenetwork-based or local personal video recorder at step 380. A playbackarrangement of the type shown in FIG. 21 or any other suitablearrangement may be used to play back the desired program for the userfrom the network-based or local personal video recorder.

If, in response to step 378, the user chose to reschedule the reminder(e.g., the user selected a “watch later” option to change the reminderto a later time because the user was not yet ready to view the program),the user may, at step 384, be provided with an opportunity to interactwith on-screen reminder-time rescheduling options of the type shown inFIG. 28. As shown in FIG. 28, the user may also be presented with anon-screen option to schedule an automatic recording operation in theevent that the user misses the rescheduled program broadcast.

After rescheduling the reminder at step 384, control loops back to step378. When the new reminder time arrives, the system may thereforedisplay a new reminder for the user at step 378.

If an original or rescheduled reminder time arrives and the user iswatching television or otherwise using user equipment 18, the user maychoose to watch the program that is the subject of the reminder at step380 or may cancel the reminder (step 382). If the user directed theinteractive television application to record missed programs (e.g.,during the user's interactions with the reminder set-up optionsdisplayed during step 374) or if the user selected a record option fromthe reminder display (e.g., a record option displayed in place ofarchive option 314 of FIG. 27), the program may be recorded at step 385(if the program was not already recorded at step 376). The recording ofthe program may be made by creating an actual copy of the program forthe user in the user's personal area or local PVR, or by creating ashared copy (or a pointer to a shared copy) that is accessible to one ormore users in the system. If the recording is made using a virtual copyof the program, step 385 may involve updating an appropriate database orotherwise storing information that indicates that the user has beenprovided with a recording of the program.

Regardless of whether a real recording or a virtual recording of theprogram is created for the user, the user's personal area on the networkor local PVR may be updated accordingly. For example, the user's listsof recordings that are provided by the interactive televisionapplication such as the list of FIG. 20 a may be updated to reflect theavailability of the recording of the program. This type of on-screenlisting arrangement or any other suitable arrangement may be used toallow the user to request that a given program recording be played backto the user (step 386). For example, an arrangement of the type shown inFIG. 32 (described earlier in the context of archived recordings) may beused to access user-requested network-based or local video recordings.

System housekeeping operations (step 388) may be performed at anysuitable time. Such operations may, for example, involve deletingcertain programs while retaining programs that users have paid tomaintain in their personal areas or local PVR. The interactivetelevision application may be used to provide the user withopportunities to extend storage (e.g., upon payment of an additionalfee) or to otherwise assist during housekeeping operations.

Any suitable approach may be used for supporting the housekeepingoperations described in connection with step 346 (FIG. 29), step 370(FIG. 30), and step 388 (FIG. 31). Programs may be retained for the samelength of time or for different lengths of time. The retention times forvarious programs may be supplied by the content owners associated withprogramming sources 12, by the operator of facility 14, or by any othersuitable entity. An illustrative approach for using system 10 indetermining suitable retention times for programs stored on the network(e.g., on server 36, server 56, or equipment at a service provider suchas service provider 50) is shown in FIG. 33. At step 408, theinteractive television application may be used to collect information onthe desirability of retaining certain programming. The application may,for example, monitor how often certain programs are recorded or playedback by the users in the system. The interactive television applicationmay also obtain information from users in the form of electronic surveysor from external sources. This information may be used in determiningthe popularity of the programs for which copies have been retained. Atstep 410, the information that has been gathered at step 408 may be usedto determine which programming to retain and which programming todelete. For example, programs whose recording and playback requestnumbers fall below a predetermined threshold may be allowed to expire,whereas programs with high recording and request numbers may beretained.

After determining which programming to retain and which programming todelete at step 410, the interactive television application may retainand delete this programming as appropriate at step 412.

The approach for deleting and retaining programs that is shown in FIG.33 is merely illustrative. Any suitable approach may be used if desired.

The length of time that different programs are retained on the networkmay generally be different for different types of program. For example,situation comedies (which users may be interested in viewing if theymiss an episode) may be retained longer than news (which becomes of lessinterest as time passes).

A particular television series (e.g., ER) may be identified as being ofinterest, and episodes of that series (or of that series on a particularchannel) may be retained longer than other programs.

A particular program (e.g., the Super Bowl) may be identified as beinglikely to be popular (even in the absence of user request information)and may be retained for a longer period than regular sports programming.

An advertiser or program provider may wish to ensure that a specificprogram or programs on a specific channel are made available to usersfor an extended period of time (and may be charged for the privilege).

A program provider may specify that recordings of a particular programor channel not be made available at all by the network-based or localpersonal video recorder. This service may also be charged for.

Programs may be designated as being of lesser viewer interest and may beretained for a shorter period of time.

Retention time may be based on program type. For example, news may beretained for a shorter time and drama or comedy programs may be retainedfor a longer time. Similarly, certain channels may be given less or moreretention time.

In providing the functionalities described above, the operator mayinteract with system 10 (e.g., through a computer terminal located attelevision distribution facility 14 or linked to system 10 throughcommunications network 34). The operator or other suitable entity mayspecify specific programs, series, channels, program categories, andother attributes that the system may use in determining which programsto retain and which to delete.

With one suitable approach, system 10 may display a program schedulegrid for the operator. The operator may select a specific program orchannel. The operator may select other attributes from a list ofattributes. The operator may also select combinations of programs,series, channels, and other attributes. The operator may specify aretention time for specific programs and programming that match theselected criteria. This may be done by specifying an absolute number (orvalue), by specifying a number of hours or a percentage relative toother programming, or by using any other suitable technique. Theoperator may also assign a priority to the operator's selections. Inresponse, the system may automatically allocate storage space (e.g., onserver 36, server 56, or storage on equipment at service provider 50)for the programming based on their relative priorities.

The system may monitor which programs are played back with thenetwork-based or local personal video recorder and which programs havebeen recorded. Retention time may be based on the number of playbackrequests (or other viewings) across the network (or across multiplenetworks). For example, if no users request a specific program, it maybe removed from storage in a relatively short period of time. If anumber of users request it, the program may be retained longer.

If desired, the program may be retained until it has not been requestedfor a predefined period of time, or until the rate of requests fallsbelow a predefined number per hour. Alternatively, priority for programretention may be determined based on the rate of viewer requests for theprograms. This priority may be used alone or in combination with anoperator-specified priority for some or all programs, series, channels,categories, and other attributes.

If desired, a program rating service, such as Nielsen ratings, may beused to assess the relative ratings of recurring programs, or ofspecific channel and time combinations. These relative ratings may beused to prioritize the retention time of the programs. If desired, thistechnique may be used in combination with operator-entered prioritiesand viewer-request-based priorities.

These techniques may be provided in combination with aviewer-request-based system. For example, programs may be recorded basedon specific viewer requests and may be recorded across a predeterminedset of channels. The retention time of recorded programs may be based ona combination of viewer requests, operator-specified times andpriorities, and ratings-adjusted priorities.

If desired, some or all of the deleted programs may be moved to some ofthe user equipment devices 18. User equipment 18 may also be used torecord missed programs, to handle the archiving of programs that havebeen automatically saved on the server, or to perform any of the othervideo recorder recording or playback functions described above.

It is understood that the foregoing features, such as reminders, storingof programs, archiving of programs, and other associated featuresdescribed above may used in conjunction with programs stored or archivedon network-based or local personal video recorders. It is alsounderstood that video recorders may include either or both network-basedvideo recorders and local personal video recorders. These features mayalso be used for programs in systems wherein suitable combinations ofnetwork-based and local arrangements are implemented.

The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this inventionand various modifications can be made by those skilled in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

1. A method for using an interactive television application in aninteractive television system in which television programs fromnetwork-based equipment are delivered to users at user equipment overcommunications paths, wherein the network-based equipment, the userequipment and the interactive television application are used toimplement a video recorder that records television programming, themethod comprising: displaying an on-screen option on the user equipmentof a given user that allows the user to set a reminder for a televisionprogram of interest, wherein the television program of interest has ascheduled broadcast time, wherein the user is allowed to set a reminderfor a time selected from a plurality of times, wherein the plurality oftimes includes the scheduled broadcast time and at least one later time,and wherein the at least one later time is a time after the scheduledbroadcast time and at which the television program of interest is notscheduled to be broadcast; upon selection by the user of a time from theat least one later time, recording the television program of interestusing the video recorder; displaying the reminder for the televisionprogram of interest on the user equipment at a time selected by theuser, wherein the time selected by the user is one of the at least onelater time; and allowing the user to use the video recorder to play backthe recorded television program of interest from the video recorder onthe display at the time selected by the user in response to the userselecting the displayed reminder.
 2. The method defined in claim 1wherein the interactive television system includes a server at atelevision distribution facility, the method further comprisingdisplaying an on-screen option with the reminder that the user mayselect to direct the video recorder to play back the copy of thetelevision program of interest from the server.
 3. The method defined inclaim 1 further comprising: using the video recorder to retain copies ofat least some of the television programs that are distributed to theuser equipment through a given television distribution facility; anddetermining retention times for the copies by using the interactivetelevision application to collect information on the desirability ofretaining program.
 4. The method defined in claim 1 wherein the videorecorder retains copies of at least some of the television programs, themethod further comprising displaying an on-screen option on the userequipment that provides the user with an opportunity to archive a copyof a given retained television program into a personal area on thenetwork equipment or into a local personal video recorder on the userequipment.
 5. The method defined in claim 1 further comprisingdisplaying an on-screen option with the reminder that provides the userwith an opportunity to immediately watch the television program ofinterest.
 6. The method defined in claim 5 further comprising using theinteractive television application to tune the user equipment to a giventelevision channel when the user selects the on-screen option thatprovides the user with an opportunity to immediately watch thetelevision program of interest.
 7. The method defined in claim 5 furthercomprising playing back the television program of interest using thevideo recorder when the user selects the on-screen option that providesthe user with an opportunity to immediately watch the television programof interest.
 8. The method defined in claim 1 further comprisingdisplaying an on-screen option with the reminder that provides the userwith an opportunity to reschedule the reminder to a later time.
 9. Themethod defined in claim 1 further comprising displaying an on-screenoption with the reminder that provides the user with an opportunity toarchive the television program of interest to a personal area on thenetwork equipment or to a local personal video recorder on the userequipment.
 10. The method defined in claim 1 further comprisingproviding the user with an opportunity to direct the interactivetelevision application to automatically save a copy of the televisionprogram of interest in a personal area on the network equipment or in alocal personal video recorder on the user equipment if the user fails towatch that television program.
 11. The method defined in claim 10wherein saving the copy when the user fails to watch the televisionprogram comprises archiving a copy of the program that was previouslystored on the network-based equipment or the user equipment.
 12. Themethod defined in claim 10 wherein saving the copy when the user failsto watch the television program comprises recording a copy of thetelevision program using the video recorder.
 13. User equipment for usein an interactive television system in which an interactive televisionapplication is used in delivering television programs from network-basedequipment to users at the user equipment over communications paths,wherein the network-based equipment, the user equipment and theinteractive television application are used to implement a videorecorder that records television programming, the user equipment foreach user comprising: control circuitry; a user input interface forproviding the user with an opportunity to provide user inputs to thecontrol circuitry; and a display for displaying the television programs,wherein the control circuitry, user input interface, and display areconfigured to: display an on-screen option on the display for the userthat allows the user to set a reminder for a television program ofinterest, wherein the television program of interest has a scheduledbroadcast time, wherein the user is allowed to set a reminder for a timeselected from a plurality of times, wherein the plurality of timesincludes the scheduled broadcast time and at least one later time, andwherein the at least one later time is a time after the scheduledbroadcast time and at which the television program of interest is notscheduled to be broadcast; upon selection by the user of a time from theat least one later time, record the television program of interest usingthe video recorder; display the reminder for the television program ofinterest on the display at a time selected by the user, wherein the timeselected by the user is one of the at least one later time; and allowthe user to use the video recorder to play back the recorded televisionprogram of interest from the video recorder on the display at the timeselected by the user in response to the user selecting the displayedreminder.
 14. The user equipment defined in claim 13 wherein theinteractive television system includes a server associated with atelevision distribution facility, wherein the control circuitry, userinput interface, and display are further configured to display anon-screen option with the reminder that the user may select to directthe video recorder to play back the copy of the television program ofinterest for the server.
 15. The user equipment defined in claim 13,wherein the control circuitry, user input interface, and display arefurther configured to use the video recorder to automatically retaincopies of at least some of the television programs that are distributedto the user equipment through a given television distribution facility,and wherein retention times for the copies are based on information onthe desirability of retaining programs that is collected using theinteractive television application.
 16. The user equipment defined inclaim 13 wherein the control circuitry, user input interface, anddisplay are further configured to display an on-screen option on theuser equipment that provides the user with an opportunity to archive acopy of a given retained television program into a personal area on thenetwork equipment or into a local personal video recorder on the userequipment.
 17. The user equipment defined in claim 13 wherein thecontrol circuitry, user input interface, and display are furtherconfigured to display an on-screen option with the reminder thatprovides the user with an opportunity to immediately watch thetelevision program of interest.
 18. The user equipment defined in claim17 wherein the control circuitry, user input interface, and display arefurther configured to use the interactive television application to tunethe user equipment to a given television channel when the user selectsthe on-screen option that provides the user with an opportunity toimmediately watch the television program of interest.
 19. The userequipment defined in claim 17 wherein the control circuitry, user inputinterface, and display are further configured to play back thetelevision program of interest using the video recorder when the userselects the on-screen option that provides the user with an opportunityto immediately watch the television program of interest.
 20. The userequipment defined in claim 13 wherein the control circuitry, user inputinterface, and display are further configured to display an on-screenoption with the reminder that provides the user with an opportunity toreschedule the reminder to a later time.
 21. The user equipment definedin claim 13 wherein the control circuitry, user input interface, anddisplay are further configured to display an on-screen option with thereminder that provides the user with an opportunity to archive thetelevision program of interest to a personal area on the networkequipment or to a local personal video recorder on the user equipment.22. The user equipment defined in claim 13 wherein the controlcircuitry, user input interface, and display are further configured toprovide the user with an opportunity to direct the interactivetelevision application to automatically save a copy of the televisionprogram of interest in a personal area on the network equipment or in alocal personal video recorder on the user equipment if the user fails towatch that television program.
 23. The user equipment defined in claim22 wherein the control circuitry, user input interface, and display arefurther configured to save the copy when the user fails to watch thetelevision program by archiving a copy of the program that waspreviously stored on the network-based equipment or the user equipment.24. The user equipment defined in claim 22 wherein the controlcircuitry, user input interface, and display are further configured tosave the copy when the user fails to watch the television program byrecording a copy of the television program using the video recorder. 25.A method of providing a television program to a user of an interactiveprogram guide comprising: allowing the user to select a televisionprogram before its scheduled broadcast time using the interactivetelevision program guide implemented on user equipment; allowing theuser to watch the selected television program at its scheduled broadcasttime; monitoring the user equipment to determine if the user watches theselected television program at its scheduled broadcast time; andproviding a recording of the selected television program for the user'slater viewing if the user does not watch the selected television programat its scheduled broadcast time as determined by the monitoring step.26. The method of claim 25 further comprising: allowing the user torequest a recording of the selected television program for the user'slater viewing if the viewer does watch the selected television programat its scheduled broadcast time as determined by the monitoring step.27. The method of claim 25, wherein the step of providing a recording ofthe television program comprises: recording the selected televisionprogram using a video recorder; and allowing the user to view therecorded program at a later time.
 28. The method of claim 25, whereinthe step of providing a recording of the television program furthercomprises: allowing the user to set a reminder for viewing the selectedprogram at a later time.